Top 10 South African players to have played in the IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is rightly crowned as the most popular cricket league in the world with its ability to bring about ‘Unity in Diversity’. Whether it is Sachin Tendulkar or Chris Gayle or Shane Watson, the IPL enables these players to come together and play as a unit. With players from all leading cricketing nations playing in the IPL, the league has brought to the fore the budding stars of almost all these nations.

While a lot of Australian and West Indies players have had great success in the IPL, the South Africans haven’t been too far behind. South Africa are among the top 3 teams in all formats of the game and the players behind that success have contributed equally to their team’s success in the IPL too.

Here are the top 10 South Africans to have played in the IPL:

10. Chris Morris

Chris Morris

After a lot of jostling for his services in the 2013 auctions following his impressive displays in the 2012 CL T20, a bid of USD 625,000 saw CSK getting hold of South African all-rounder Chris Morris. After playing an instrumental role for the side in their 2013 campaign where they finished as runners-up, Morris surprisingly fell out of favour in the 2014 season.

Morris subsequently moved to the Rajasthan Royals in the 2015 edition and his performances were royal indeed as he scalped 13 wickets from 11 matches at an impressive economy rate of 7.40, thereby playing an important part in RR reaching the playoffs after failing to do so in 2014.

9. Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir

He came in as a handy replacement for the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile in 2014 for the Delhi Daredevils. He scalped 9 wickets in the 6 matches he played. The leg-spinner continued to be a boon in the 2015 season as he took 15 wickets in the 10 matches that he played.

Expected by many to clinch the purple cap in the initial stages of the recent season, his form eventually faded away and he was dropped for a few matches.

8. Albie Morkel

Albie Morkel

The quality all-rounder donned the yellow jersey of CSK till IPL 2013 before being picked up by the Bangalore franchise in 2014. With the bat in hand, he has changed the course of a match many a time. With the ball in hand, he has a number of variations at his disposal that he uses to good effect to contribute to the side.

He has taken 83 wickets in the IPL till date, 76 of which came while playing for CSK. While he was one of the best players in the IPL with CSK, his tenure with RCB was not something to be spoken about as the Daredevils bought him in 2015. In spite of an almost match-winning performance (73 not out) in his very first outing for the Daredevils in the recently concluded season, he was given a chance to play in only 3 other matches.

7. Faf Du Plessis

The South Africa T20 skipper has been the unsung hero behind Chennai Super Kings’ success over the past three years. After warming the benches for one whole year, he made the given opportunities count with formidable knocks at the top of the order in 2012. At the initial stages of the tournament, he was a top contender for the orange cap.

After a silent second year in the IPL with 303 runs, Faf and Raina were nomadic at the number 3 position in 2015. Du Plessis, however, quietly managed to play the role of a saviour on many instances when the team was toppling.

While Faf is good enough to get into any side as a batsman alone, his fielding certainly makes him an invaluable possession, especially in T20 cricket. Du Plessis’ hands are one of the safest places on the cricket field as he has pulled off some superhuman catches that have helped his side win matches they had no right to.

6. David Miller

David Miller

“Killer Miller” can easily be called South Africa’s best find through the IPL. With a devastating strike-rate of 147.5 that demonstrates his big-hitting ability, Miller has been the most consistent player for Kings XI Punjab since his arrival. Miller’s reign started in 2013 when he piled up 418 runs with 3 half-centuries and one massive century. No one will forget that brutal hundred against RCB which took his side to victory from the jaws of defeat!

The Maxwell-Miller combo was dynamite in 2014 and Miller pitched in again with 446 runs, thus playing a vital role in Punjab’s run to finish as runners-up. Miller was again the only positive asset of the KXIP’s batting line up in 2015, scoring 357 runs at a consistent pace.

5. JP Duminy

The current Daredevils skipper showcased his abilities with the bat and the ball in the recent edition in a way much better than his previous appearances. A player who can adapt himself according to the situation, JP Duminy was earlier a part of the Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers and the Sunrisers.

Duminy’s batting average over the seasons reflects his supreme ability as he has recorded a 40+ average in four out of the seven seasons he has played. He has featured in less number of games when compared to many of his South African colleagues, which has eventually kept him away from the limelight.

Now that he has turned the tide in the 2015 season, his numbers of 1802 runs and 21 wickets with bat and ball might witness a sharp rise in the future.

4. Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel

The younger of the Morkel brothers, Morne was signed up by Delhi Daredevils in 2011 after two fairly unsuccessful seasons with the Rajasthan Royals. He emerged as the leading wicket-taker for Delhi in 2011 with 13 scalps and followed it up in 2012 with 25 wickets to win the Purple Cap.

After one more year with Delhi, Morne was signed to play for the Knight Riders. Since then, he has been spearheading the team’s bowling attack. The lanky Protean has picked up 67 IPL wickets and with the ability to generate sharp bounce off the pitch coupled with good pace, a lot more is expected from him.

3. Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn

Without a shadow of a doubt, Dale Steyn is a batsman’s worst nightmare. The South African speedster has been playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad over the last couple of years after previously playing for RCB and the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. In 2012, he picked up 18 wickets at a mind-boggling average of 15.83.

He was one of the prime reasons behind the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s voyage to the playoffs in 2013. With a jaw-dropping economy of 5.66 he scalped 19 wickets in 2013, his best season of IPL so far. SRH were in a fix in choosing between Steyn and Trent Boult in 2015, as a result of which Steyn played only 6 matches.

With his ability to also contribute a few runs lower down the order, he remains one of the biggest match-winners in the IPL.

2. Jacques Kallis

One of the greatest all-rounders the game has ever seen, it can be said that the IPL was privileged enough to have him as a part of it. The T20 format is no exception in the list of all that Kallis mastered as the classy batsman was a top contender for the orange cap in 2010. Though he joined the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011 after 3 seasons with RCB, he continued his role of ‘anchoring’ at the top of the order.

He made a crucial 69, overshadowed by Manvinder Bisla’s 89, in the 2012 IPL final to finally bring success to the Knight Riders. One cannot forget his exploits with the ball either as he took 65 wickets with an economy of 7.89. While he is no longer playing in the IPL, Kallis continues to be an instrumental part of the Kolkata dressing room as a mentor.

1. AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers

He is not a surprise inclusion in any list that speaks about South African cricket or its best players. He was a key batsman in the Delhi Daredevils’ middle order during his time there, bringing up his maiden IPL century in the second season. Bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the fourth edition, De Villiers has never stopped displaying his delightful brutality with the bat and acrobatic saves in the field.

With an impressive average of 36.74 and 2570 runs under his belt, he has two IPL centuries to his name, the second one coming in the recently concluded edition of the league. His innovative batting has helped pull off some stunning victories when his team was on the cusp of defeat. The two-time winner of South Africa’s best cricketer award has been a vital player in the star-studded line-up of RCB.