3 SA players who should be protected during IPL 2019

Since its inception in 2008, the 2019 edition of the tournament will be the first time when the Indian Premier League will be played ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup event.

The 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup will be hosted by England and Wales and is scheduled to be played between 30th May and 14th July. ICC has opted for the ten-team round-robin format with the top four battling it out for the coveted trophy. In short, the stage is set for the ICC’s flagship event.

However, the same cannot be said about the BCCI's million dollar baby- the IPL. Although the franchises have released their player retention list, neither the venue nor the dates of the fixture for the IPL 2019 have been announced.

Depending on the fixture of the Indian General Elections, the 12th edition of IPL could be either completely shifted to the rainbow nation of South Africa like in 2009 or it could be partially shifted to the United Arab Emirates similar to its 2014 edition.

Cricket boards have had to choose between allowing their players to play the cash-rich league and protecting them from fatigue and injuries. While the New Zealand players are said to be available for the entirety of the next season of IPL, Australian and England players are said to return by the 1st week of May.

There were also reports that the Indian skipper Virat Kohli wanted India’s bowlers to be fresh and fit before the World Cup and hence wanted them to skip the IPL partially at least.

With all the teams trying to make sure that their key players don’t suffer injuries, let us take a look at the players that 2015 World Cup’s semi-finalists South Africa should protect during the IPL 2019:

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#3. Quinton de Kock

CXI v South Africa - International T20 Tour Match

Quinton de Kock has been South Africa’s first choice wicket-keeper across all formats and also shares the responsibility of opening the innings along with Hashim Amla. The southpaw is one of the top wicket-keepers in the international circuit and is a formidable opening batsman.

Numbers back up de Kock’s exceptional glove-work for the Proteas. Till date, he has 146 dismissals in 94 innings comprising of 139 catches and 7 stumpings. He has the highest dismissal to innings ratio of 1.553.

Earlier in the year, de Kock suffered a wrist injury in the second One Day International game against India and was out of action for the remainder of the series and was replaced by Heinrich Klassen.

He played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 edition of the IPL and was traded to the Mumbai Indians after a below-par season with the bat. He managed just 201 runs in 8 matches. Although de Kock has had very few injuries in his career, South Africa would do well to protect to him for the all-important World Cup.

#2. Kagiso Rabada

South Africa has a track-record for producing young sensational fast bowlers with its recent product being Kagiso Rabada. The right arm-pacer has become the leader of South Africa’s pace attack in the absence of Dale Steyn.

He became the youngest bowler to take 150 wickets in Test cricket in the first Test match against Sri Lanka in July 2018. He features in the top five ICC bowlers list in both Tests as well as ODIs and occupies the second and fourth position respectively.

Rabada’s stint at the IPL began with the Delhi Daredevils buying him in the 2017 auctions. However, he featured in only six games picking six wickets at an economy of 8.81. Rabada was ruled out of IPL 2018 due to a lower back injury missing three months of action.

Rabada, along with Steyn and Lungi Ngidi, forms one of the most fearsome pace attacks for the World Cup and will be vital to South Africa’s chances in lifting the trophy and his workload through the IPL should be carefully monitored.

#1. Faf du Plessis

Ever since Faf du Plessis took over the full-time captaincy of South Africa, he has been prone to injuries. He suffered a lower back injury in the series against Bangladesh in 2017 and was back in action against for the Test series against India. This was followed by a finger injury in the first ODI against India and was ruled out for the remainder of the ODI series.

Recently he suffered an injury to his right shoulder in the third ODI against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, the same shoulder on which he’d undergone a surgery last year.

The finger injury also kept du Plessis out of some part of IPL 2018. However, his most important knock for the Chennai Super Kings came in the playoffs where he scored 67 runs when the rest of the top order failed to reach double digits. This helped CSK reach the finals of the IPL 2018 comfortably. CSK have retained du Plessis who is set to play a prominent role for the team.

With the retirement of AB de Villiers, du Plessis holds the key to South Africa’s middle-order with an inexperienced Aiden Markam batting one down and remains one of the most important players in South Africa’s conquest to their maiden World Cup.