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OPINION: Plenty of positives for Proteas after IPL campaign

The Proteas look to be in pretty good shape heading into the 2022 T20 World Cup later this year following the conclusion of the IPL.

David Miller of the Proteas - T20 World Cup

The Proteas look to be in pretty good shape heading into the 2022 T20 World Cup later this year following the conclusion of the IPL.

Proteas in the IPL

The 2022 IPL is in the books, with new boys Gujarat Titans claiming the trophy.

South Africa’s David Miller played his part in the victory as one of the Titans’ overseas stars.

Miller ranked second on the IPL MVP index among the Titans overseas players, with only superstar legspinner Rashid Khan ahead of him.

The Proteas left-handed batter has a long history with the IPL but, in recent editions, struggled to make an impact.

However, he was backed as the Titans’ finisher in this campaign and did his job with aplomb.

On the flip side of the IPL final coin, Rassie van der Dussen had a limited role for the Rajasthan Royals.

Van der Dussen only played three matches and didn’t enjoy much time in the middle.

He was at least sharp in the field and was involved in three run-outs across the matches he played.

Overall the experience is likely to prove valuable for van der Dussen even if he failed to enhance his stock in the franchise game.

Elsewhere in the playoff teams, there were also South Africans putting in key contributions.

We still have to question why Faf du Plessis has been frozen out of the national team picture, considering the way he led Royal Challengers Bangalore to the playoffs and eventually into the second qualifier.

Du Plessis finished as the Royal Challengers’ top-scoring batsman, and his efforts were central to the team reaching the stage they did.

He worked well with former skipper Virat Kohli, who was still lurking in the squad, although his struggles probably took the spotlight off du Plessis.

The fourth and final playoff participants, Lucknow Super Giants, were also bolstered by a star South African in Quinton de Kock.

De Kock kicked into ominously good form towards the backend of the tournament, and if he can find that touch in Australia later this year, the Proteas have a genuine chance of finally snatching an ICC crown.

The Proteas keeper smashed the highest score of the Indian Premier League season when he hammered 140 not out against the Kolkata Knight Riders in LSG’s final round-robin match, propelling them into the playoffs.

De Kock joined Jos Buttler and KL Rahul in passing 500 runs for the campaign and arguably joins those two as the form white-ball batters in white-ball cricket.

Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje’s return to fitness came too late for the Delhi Capitals, who just missed out on the playoffs.

Nortje was able to get through a few overs in the six matches he played though, which should delight Proteas management ahead of the tour to England.

Kagiso Rabada left the Delhi Capitals after being snapped up by the Punjab Kings at auction and was again his team’s leading wicket-taker.

Rabada was unable to make up for the Kings’ failures with the willow, though, and he missed out on the playoffs as they finished sixth.

At the Sunrisers, Aiden Markram provided stability and consistency with the bat and outshone several superstars, including Kane Williamson and Nicholas Pooran.

Markram averaged over 47 and scored 381 runs from a middle-order position, which appears to be his best slot for the Proteas.

Chennai Super Kings couldn’t replace Du Plessis to satisfaction, and Proteas allrounder Dwaine Pretorius struggled to make an impact, ending up playing six matches as he competed with Dwayne Bravo and Chris Jordan for a spot in the starting lineup.

Amid an awful blowout campaign for Mumbai Indians, there was good news for South African cricket as two youngsters gained precious experience on the big stage.

Dewald Brevis showed himself capable of turning a match during the time given to him and did his international ambitions no harm.

Tristan Stubbs arrived late in the campaign and only played twice, but he will benefit from being in the IPL team environment.

All in all, there were a lot of positives for South African cricket from the IPL, and it now falls back on the Proteas management and team to build on those and restore their status as an elite team competing for the highest honours.

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