Hardus Viljoen - The South African-discard who could make it big in the upcoming IPL auction

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a wonderful platform for rather unknown commodities to make it big in their careers. Many cricketers in the past have first succeeded in this league and then went on to make it big in their International careers. One such curious cases who seems to be grabbing a lot of attention ahead of the IPL 2019 auction is South Africa's Hardus Viljoen.

A broad-shouldered, tall and strong fast bowler, Hardus Viljoen is an excellent pacer who is only getting better as he ages. The brutal bouncers that he unleashes without any prior indication is considered to be one of his biggest strengths. He has got a lot more variations in his armoury which often outfoxes the batters. Apart from all of these, he is an absolute miser with the ball and bowls extremely economical spells which is great for T20 cricket.

With his flattering performances in the T10 League 2018, Viljoen, all of a sudden, has got most of the IPL franchises to have a good, close look at him. His success in conditions similar to the ones in the subcontinent will be a great encouragement for the franchises to bid for him. Also, it would an added advantage if the IPL is shifted to South Africa, where he understands the pitches in and out.

Here are five facts about Hardus Viljoen:

1. Born on 6 March 1989

Hardus Viljoen was born on March 6, 1989. The pacer is now 29 years old and will turn 30 by the time the next season IPL begins. He was named Gerhardus C Viljoen. Later on, he was nicknamed as Hardus Viljoen later on. Apparently, his middle name, 'C' doesn't stand for anything, which is usually a common practice among the Scots-Irish.