IPL 2020: 3 South African players you might not know once played in the IPL

The 13th season of the IPL is now just one month away. All the Indian players from each team assembled at one place and are now leaving for UAE.

Most of the overseas players will be coming from their respective countries directly to UAE, whereas the Australian and England players, who will be playing the ODI series in England, will join late.

There was doubt over the participation of South African players because of the lockdown restrictions in their country but it has been confirmed that they will be traveling through a chartered flight to India.

South African players have always been important to the IPL. The likes of AB De Villiers, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir always take the IPL to a different level.

These are the South African players who are pretty famous, but there are a few South African players who you might not know have played in the IPL. So let’s take a look at three such players.

#3 Ashwell Prince

Ashwell Prince.

Ashwell Prince was a left-handed middle-order batsman for South Africa. He was known for his defense and was a very good Test player. He played more than 60 Tests and 50 ODIS but played only one T20I for South Africa.

Prince was one of the only two players who didn’t receive a bid in the 2008 IPL Auctions. But later on, Mumbai Indians signed him for that season.

Prince was more of a Test batsman and hencewasn’t suited to the shortest format. Even for MI he didn’t get a single game and warmed the bench throughout the season.

#2 Andre Nel

Andre Nel was another fast bowler from the South African cricket team. He was genuinely quick and used to bowl some deadly bouncers. Nel retired from international cricket just when the T20 format was coming into its own. Nel played 36 Tests ad 79 ODIS for South Africa but only two T20Is.

In 2008, Mumbai Indians signed Andre Nel as a replacement option for Dwayne Bravo who had to leave early due to international commitments. Nel played only one game for the Mumbai Indians where he gave away 31 runs in three overs and picked up a wicket.

#1 Morne van Wyk

Morne Van Wyk.

Morne van Wyk is a middle-order batsman who also used to keep wickets. He played for South Africa in the limited-overs formats. He couldn’t make a mark in the ODI format but has a T20I hundred to his name despite a short career.

In 2009, he was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders where he showed his attacking skills. Opening the batting in one game he scored 74 off just 48 balls. In his 5 IPL games, he scored 167 runs at an average of 55.67.

Unfortunately, KKR didn’t do well that year and as a result, he was left out of the squad and since then never played in the IPL.