Loots Bosman

Lungile Loots Bosman, born on 14 April 1977 in Kimberley, Cape Province has earned himself the reputation of being a destructive batsman at the top of the order.

He has been dubbed the next Sehwag in the South African domestic circuit for quite a while now. He has a technique of his own and when he is at his explosive best, he can single- handedly destroy the opposition's bowling attack.

His 22-ball fifty against the Highveld Lions last year brought him to stardom and made the national selectors sit up and take notice of his special talent. Soon, he was awarded a contract with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

He made his international Twenty20 debut on 24 February 2006 at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg and his ODI debut came a few months later against Zimbabwe in September 2006.

He has however not been able to translate his ability into consistent international performances. Branded as a typical T20 batsmen, his only knock worthy enough of praise at the international level before he was axed, came against Pakistan, where he made an unbeaten 53 in just 32 balls in the Standard Pro T20.

He was also selected to be a part of the Champions Trophy in 2009, but made it to the playing eleven in just 1 match.

Most recently, Bosman made himself known again in the T20 Series against England in November 2009. He smashed 58 off 31 balls in the first game, and 94 off 44 balls in the second, setting a world-record International T20 partnership of 170 with Graeme Smith to set up a South Africa victory. He would however be looking to elevate his status if and when he gets the opportunity to represent the Proteas again.

It has been quite sometime since Bosman last played for South Africa, February 2010 to be precise. After those two innings against England, he looked out of sorts and had a horrid T20 WC in West Indies, where he scored 8 runs in 2 games. However, the selectors gave some more chances which he failed to utilize and was dropped after playing a T20 against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi. At the age of 36, with no performances in the domestic level, one cannot see Bosman making a comeback to the National side.

By Shashank

As of April 2014