Kagiso Rabada

Known for his thunderbolts with an average speed of over 145 kph, Kagiso Rabada grabbed the eyeballs for his pinpoint yorker against the deadly Andre Russell in a super over against Kolkata Knight Riders to win the match for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2019.     

He has become the leader of the Proteas bowling attack in the current lineup.

Picking up the Lions on the back of strong performances in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2014, Rabada took a record 14 wickets in a match against the Dolphins which is the best figure in franchise cricket of South Africa.

Rabada made his ODI debut against Bangladesh on  July 10, 2015 and instantly shot to fame after picking a hat-trick on his debut. The youngster took 6 wickets for just 18 runs and declared his arrival on the international stage. In July 2016, he was awarded as the Cricketer of the Year on the back of a splendid debut season.

After a tremendous season, Rabada caught the eyes of multiple franchises before the start of 2017 edition of IPL. Eventually, Delhi Capitals bought the youngster for a whopping INR 50 million. After his introduction to the prestigious tournament, the fiery pacer has had middling performances but has shown the sparks of how good he can be, especially with his searing yorkers at the base of the stumps bowled at over 90mph.  In his debut season for the DC, Rabada could manage only 6 wickets from 6 matches at an economy rate of 8.8, which is certainly not suiting his stature as a bowler.

After being injury-ridden in the 2018 IPL, Rabada returned in and set the IPL alight in 2019. He finished just one wicket behind the leading wicket-taker Imran Tahir despite playing 5 fewer games. The whole world got a glimpse of Kagiso Rabada in IPL 2020 when he won the purple cap ahead of Jasprit Bumrah by rattling 30 wickets in just 17 games which led Delhi Capitals to his first finals in 13 seasons.

Rabada became the top-ranked Test bowler in the world after picking up five wickets against India during the first Test of India’s tour of South Africa in 2018 displacing the legendary James Anderson. During the first Test against Sri Lanka in July 2018, Rabada surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become the youngest ever bowler to pick 150 wickets in Test cricket and the third-fastest South African bowler to take 150 wickets.

With each passing year, Rabada became more and more destructive and by the end of 2018, he had the most dismissals by any bowler(52) in that year. He reached the milestone of 200 wickets in Test cricket while playing against Pakistan in the first Test on  January 28, 2021.

In the IPL 2021, Delhi Capital will need Rabada in full form from the first match and his prowess with both new and old balls will be crucial for Shreyas Iyer and co. to make a mark in the tourney. He will be used sparingly by the team management for both the roles of striking with the new ball and containing a relatively older ball in the death overs. His successes in IPL 2021 can also set him up for the upcoming T20 ICC World Cup in October 2021.

(As of March 2021)