There have been some memorable performances by South African’s in the IPL in the past seasons, these are the ones that stand out.
AB de Villiers – Royal Challengers Bangalore – 2016
AB has been one of the best foreign players in the history of the IPL with a record of 4849 runs at an average of 40.40 with a fantastic strike rate of 151.91. Mr 360 definitely proved that he is one of the best players in the IPL in the 2016 season when he scored 687 runs in 16 matches at an average of 52,84 with a staggering strike rate of 168.79 leading RCB to the final of the competition that year which they ended up losing to the Sunrisers.
Kagiso Rabada – Delhi Capitals – 2020
The South African speedster had a fantastic season in the previous campaign finishing on top of the wicket-taking leaderboard with 30 wickets in just 17 games. He became the fastest bowler to 50 wickets in the competition’s history. His performances in 2020 guided the side from Delhi to the final of the competition which they lost to the Mumbai Indians. He has the ability to take wickets in the first six overs and at the death proved to be one of the main reasons why the Capitals reached their first final in the competition
Jacques Kallis – Royal Challengers Bangalore – 2010
One of the best all-rounders to ever play the game, Jacques Kallis had a fantastic season in 2010 where he finished runner-up to Sachin Tendulkar in the run-scorer leaderboard. He scored 572 runs in 16 games for the side from Banagaluru also helping them chase down a score of 203 against Punjab in which he scored a brilliant 89 of 55 balls. He helped his team finish fourth in that season by also taking 13 wickets which proved what a fantastic all-rounder he was.
Imran Tahir – Chennai Super Kings – 2019
In 2019 the South African spinner took the most wickets by a spinner in a single season in the competition’s history as he finished with a record of 26 wickets in 17 games at an average of 16.57 for CSK. He finished as the leading wicket-taker in the competition but his wonderful performances were not enough to see his team lift the title as they lost to Quinton de Kock’s Mumbai Indians in the final. He was CSK’s standout bowler in that campaign.
Morne Morkel – Delhi Daredevils – 2012
Morne Morkel finished the 2012 season with the Purple Cap as he took 25 wickets in 16 games for the Daredevils at an average of 18.12. He guided his team to the top of the table in the league stage but he was not selected for the qualifier against KKR which raised a few eyebrows and probably one of the reasons why they lost that game.
Quinton de Kock – Mumbai Indian – 2019 & 2020
It would be hard to leave out the player who has played a pivotal role in the Mumbai Indians winning back-to-back IPL titles. He was the Mumbai Indians’ leading run-scorer in 2019 and was third overall scoring 529 runs. In 2020 it was more of the same from the South African wicket-keeper as he scored 503 runs. His attacking style of batting and variety of strokes have been some of the main reasons why the Mumbai Indians have done so well in the competition in the past few years.