There are 20 South African players on the books of the Indian Premier League (IPL) clubs, and the reason they’re so popular is largely because they’re unfussy.
The South Africans are generally disciplined hard workers and set a very good example for the younger Indian players also contracted to the various franchises. But 2026 has been a year of drama for the South African players working in cricket’s most lucrative tournament.
Lungi Ngidi knocked himself out trying to catch a ball and had to be rushed to hospital. David Miller had a last-ball mishap and then redeemed himself in the space of a week for Delhi Capitals.
Aiden Markram doesn’t know where he’s batting from game to game in Lucknow; Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock are fighting for one spot in a Mumbai Indians team where the nepo-baby owner is kicking up strop, and the captain is hated; while in Gujarat, Kagiso Rabada went viral for, of all things, smoking a cigarette — and getting caught on camera doing so while in training gear.
All of that happened before the garrulous Kevin Pietersen called on Shukri Conrad or Enoch Nkwe to put in a phone call to Heinrich Klaasen and beg him to come back to the Proteas.
SA players quite boring
To be fair to all of them, none of the drama has been created by the players. South African cricketers, generally, are quite boring, which is why the IPL owners like having them.
The fuss over Rabada is proof — for those still not aware — of the fervour there is for cricket, and especially the IPL in India, along with a social media environment that allows everyone with a smartphone to show how the device in their hands might be cleverer than its owner.
Rabada infamously took the wrong line last year, which briefly jeopardised his spot in the World Test Championship final. But smoking a cigarette while apparently waiting for a bus, with teammates and club officials around him, is nowhere close to being in the same category as an offence.
Miller garnered headlines for an actual match incident — turning down a single off the penultimate ball in a run chase but then failing to score the required run and seeing Delhi lose by one run to Gujarat. It was one of those “line calls” that Miller has had to make throughout a stellar career in which he’s been one of the finest “finishers” in the limited overs formats.
Batting with the No 11, Miller’s decision was the correct one, but he was beaten by a good delivery by Titans bowler Prasidh Krishna. Miller was crestfallen. Between the on-line experts and the plethora of former players either commentating on the competition or asked for an opinion, he was either roasted or found sympathy.
Miller redeems himself
But in a Bollywood movie-like turnaround, 10 days later, the 36-year-old was at the crease with Delhi needing 15 to win off the last over against Bangalore. He redeemed himself by thumping two sixes and a four.
Markram is by nature an unpretentious sort but hasn’t been able to escape some farcical decisions at Lucknow SuperGiants. In his first eight innings this year, the Proteas T20 captain has batted in four different spots as the franchise tries to put a band-aid on wounds caused by their inconsistent captain, Rishabh Pant, and the long out-of-form West Indies batter, Nicholas Pooran.
Markram will find impending fatherhood much easier to deal with than whatever it is Lucknow is attempting to cook up.
After a month in which the bat has dominated the ball — too much by any objective reckoning — the IPL is making the turn for the home straight with teams jostling for playoff spots. That should create more tension, and the kind of care-free batting seen in the first four weeks will change.
The impact of the South African players will hopefully be different too, and headlines and opinions might focus on wickets and sixes rather than cigarettes.
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