Hardus Viljoen

A skiddy hit-the-deck pacer, Hardus Viljoen is a one-Test wonder and one of those talents from South Africa lost to the 'Kolpak'ism. Born in Witbank, his inauguration to provincial cricket was at the Easterns and the first inkling of his potential came in the 2010-11 season where he ended up as the second highest-wicket taker. The Lions franchise set their eyes on the youngster and wooed him to represent them in the next season, Hardus shifted his base to the Wanderers.

Despite consistent performances in the domestic circuit, he was ignored by the national selectors and Hardus contemplated moving to New Zealand to pursue his career. 2014/15 was the breakthrough season - topping the bowling charts with 47 scalps at an average of 23.02 which was enough for him to earn a call-up to the national side.

In 2016, Hardus made his Test debut against England in the third Test. He couldn't have asked for a better start to his career. Hardus hit a boundary off the first ball he faced and to top it up, he picked up a wicket off his first ball in International cricket - Alastair Cook was his first victim. Unfortunately, he couldn't kick-on and finished with 1/ 94. South Africa went onto lose the Test and series, which saw Hardus losing his spot from the team.

He carried on plying his trade for the South African A teams and continued to stamp his authority. With limited opportunities, he fell bait for the Kolpak and signed a 3-year deal with Derbyshire in December 2016 and parted ways with Cricket South Africa.

Hardus was roped in by Kings XI Punjab for his base price of Rs. 75 lakhs. With an economy rate above 9.5, he didn't have a memorable IPL in 2019. However, the Punjab franchise decided to retain Viljoen for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League.

By Sriram AS