Kyle Abbott

A right-arm pacer with the ability to swing the ball while bowling accurate lines, Kyle Abbott comes from the same area where Lance Klusener came from, the Zululand. His Test debut materialized when Jacques Kallis got injured for the third Test against Pakistan in 2013. It might have been a stroke of luck which provided him with the opportunity, but there was nothing lucky about his performance. The pacer bagged seven wickets and returned with the ninth-best figures by a debutant.

It was in the 2012-13 season, after Klusener took over as the coach of the Dolphins' side, that Abbott's form got the much-needed impetus in the longer format of the game and he ended up as the leading wicket-taker of the season with 49 wickets. That's what got him into the fray for national selection in the first place.

Much before Abbott was a prominent name, as a 19-year old, he played for the English coastal side called Clevedon Cricket Club in 2006/07 and while he was playing there, he caught the eyes of Somerset CCC who gave him a chance to play in their second string squad.

However, it wasn't until 2008/09 that he played his first game back home for provincial side Kwazulu-Natal.

According to former South African bowling coach Vincent Barnes, Abbott is someone who generates good pace and swings the ball with control at high speed, which can be lethal at times. He can hit the ball a long way and is considered to be a useful bat lower down the order.

After his debut, opportunities in the Test set-up would only come few and far between due to the strength of the South African pace attack which comprised of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. Some of his prime years were spent living in the shadow of these greats.

In the limited-overs arena though, there was more scope. Abbott even made it to the squad for the 2015 ODI World Cup, and performed pretty well in the 4 matches that he was part of, taking 9 wickets. Earlier in that very year, Abbott had been bought by the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the IPL.

Next year, South Africa turned to Abbott when Steyn had to miss most of the action due to injury. And he didn't disappoint. He even proved to be instrumental in the Test series in Australia and played a vital part in his team's monumental 2-1 victory.

Close to the end of 2016, murmurs started doing the rounds that Abbott had signed a Kolpak deal with English County Hampshire, which would effectively end his South Africa career. He later confirmed these reports and played his final game for the national team against Sri Lanka - the New Year's Test of 2017.

By Cricbuzz Staff