Sam Curran (International)
For many years the Zimbabwean-born allrounder was the victim of his own versatility; because he could fulfil any role at both domestic and international level, with bat and ball, he was regarded as a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. Finally, he is recognised a master of them all.
Used regularly as a No 3 by Chennai Super Kings, he was preferred as a ‘luxury’ No 8 by England at the recent World Cup but was also promoted during the hitting overs. Similarly adaptable with the ball, he settled into the role of both new-ball and ‘death overs’ specialist finishing as player-of-the-tournament with 13 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.5 runs per over.
His big-match temperament was never better illustrated than during the World Cup final in front of 80 000 people at the MCG when he delivered a man-of-the-match performance against Pakistan claiming a remarkable 3-12 in his four overs. It was also a mark of the man that he refuted his worth of the accolade, insisting that it should have been given to teammate Ben Stokes whose 52* took England over the winning line.
The man known as ‘Junior’ will be a critical member of the MI Cape Town team. His role? Whatever they need it to be.
Rashid Khan (International)
The great Afghan legspinner sits in 25th place on the list of most T20 matches played (356) but he is second behind only Dwayne Bravo (614) on the list of most wickets taken with 486 – and he is still only 24 years old. His endurance for eight years since making his senior debut aged just 16 is surpassed only by the desire for teams around the world to employ him – and his consistent success wherever he plays, and in whatever conditions.
One of the all-time ‘go to’ bowlers, Rashid either drags a team back into a contest or rams home an advantage whenever needed, he is a captain’s dream. Not a great spinner of the ball but with a subtle variation for every day of the week and a googly impossible for 99 out of a 100 batters to pick. It is his speed through the air which makes him unique because even if batters can ‘red’ him, do they have sufficient time to play him.
Often overlooked is his prowess in the field and astonishingly powerful hitting in the lower order where he boasts a career strike rate of 145. Certainly not overlooked, at least by those he plays for and with, is his loyalty and commitment to every team one of the 17 teams he has represented around the world. So much so that, when he was walloping Australia’s much-vaunted bowling attack all over the Adelaide Oval, denting their net run-rate and effectively eliminating them from their home World Cup, he was cheered by the local crowd where he had played five seasons for the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL.
Kagiso Rabada (Capped)
A decade into his international career Rabada has been the designated leader of the Proteas’ attack for as long as most people can remember – and he’s still only 27. The three most talked about aspects of his career are his speed, his endurance and the sheer numbers which mark him out as indisputably among the finest multi-format fast bowlers of the modern era.
Less mentioned is his skill level, largely because there is no ‘obvious’ asset which stands out above the others. Equally, there is no obvious deficiency. Rabada extracts seam movement with the new ball, conventional swing whenever conditions are suitable and is as proficient as any of the best fast bowlers in the art of reverse swing. He is also capable of extreme pace but, like all his other skills, it is the subtlety of his craft which makes him so dangerous.
His T20 skills have been best illustrated in the IPL where he has claimed a remarkable 99 wickets in just 63 matches – if he strikes again in the first game of the 2023 season he will become the 19th bowler to reach a century but in a dozen fewer games than anyone else. Born and raised in Jo’burg, Rabada may just respond to the change of environment in Cape Town and be the match-winner at Newlands that MI Cape Town believe he will be.
Beuran Hendricks (Capped)
Most successful T20 teams have a wrist-spinner and a left-arm seamer in their starting XIs and MI Cape Town have gems in Rashid Khan and Beuran Hendricks who is in the prime of his career at the age of 32. Born and bred in Cape Town and with previous IPL experience in the IPL with the Mumbai Indians, Hendricks’ purchase at the SA20 Player Auction represents a double homecoming for the man with 28 Proteas caps across all three formats.
Hendricks made his international debut a decade ago and has meticulously gathered experience and learned from the inevitable ups and downs of such a long career which has included recent seasons playing county cricket in England. Which is exactly why the MI Cape Town franchise wanted him in the squad although he may well start the tournament behind fellow left-armer and allrounder, Duan Jansen, who was bought for R3.1m compared to the modest R275k Hendricks cost.
Hendricks may well have a quiet tournament in which he features just a couple of times – and perhaps, if the ‘other Jansen’ emerges from the shadow of his more illustrious twin brother, Marco, he may not play at all. But if he does, MI Cape Town will have invested extremely well.
Dewald Brevis (Uncapped)
The single most recognisable name in the modern history of South African cricket who doesn’t have a single Proteas cap – and has yet to play a single first-class game. But then, what status does a first-class career confer on a player these days?
Brevis burst into the public eye with a record-breaking tally of 506 runs at an average of 84.3 at the Under-19 World Cup which was enough to persuade the Mumbai Indians to sign him for a staggering $650k. With such an investment in one so young it was no surprise that Mumbai pre-selected him before the Player Auction to ensure that no other team got their hands on MI’s prized asset.
Brevis was given the moniker of ‘Baby AB’ during the tournament which was no surprise given that de Villiers was his idol and that he consciously modelled his game on the great man and it was a nickname he enjoyed. But he is already setting his own records and caught the attention of the cricketing world with a staggering innings of 162 from just 57 balls for the Titans in the CSA T20 Challenge, the third-highest score in the history of the format.