IPL 2019: 3 South African players to watch out for
The 12th edition of IPL, IPL 2019, is less than 2 weeks away, and the excitement levels are already very high. The first match will be played between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 23rd at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
IPL is undoubtedly the biggest T20 league in the world. It’s a huge platform for new prodigies and experienced veterans to showcase their talents in the shortest format of the game.
Foreign players are always an integral part of IPL. But there haven’t been a lot of players from South Africa making an impact in IPL except Morne Morkel, who won the Purple Cap in 2012 with 25 wickets from 16 matches, and AB de Villiers, who has continuously delivered with the bat all the seasons.
This year, 3 South African players are making their IPL debut - Colin Ingram, Hardus Viljoen and Anrich Nortje. On the flip side, there were a few big names who went unsold in the auction this year - such as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel himself.
On that note, let's take a look at 3 South African players to watch out for in this edition of IPL.
#3 Anrich Nortje (Kolkata Knight Riders)
25-year-old right-arm fast bowler Anrich Nortje entered the IPL auction with a base price of INR 20 lakh. Kolkata Knight Riders bought him at that same price, thus ensuring he will get to play his first IPL this year.
In the Mzansi Super League (MSL), Nortje took 8 wickets from 3 matches at an average of 10.4. Unfortunately however, he was ruled out from the rest of the tournament due to an ankle injury.
Nortje has picked up 162 wickets from 47 first-class matches at an average of 25.72. He has also picked 19 wickets from 12 T20s.
Nortje made his ODI debut in 2019 March against Sri Lanka, and has so far picked 3 wickets from 2 matches at an average of 19.33. He has already caught everyone’s eye with his pace and variation.
Nortje is known for attacking the stumps at 150 kmph. It will be interesting to see how he performs in Indian conditions.