Lungi Ngidi

South Africa have had an impressive pace battery almost always. Now, another right-arm fast bowler has been added to the list - Lungisani Ngidi. A tall figure, strong build and fierce pace with an easy action constitute an ideal pacer and he has most of it. Among the many intriguing of pacers choosing the way, Ngidi’s non-affordability of batting kits chose him to turn into a fast bowler.

His first international appearance for the Proteas was in a T20I against Sri Lanka in early 2017. That match turned out to be 10-overs-a-side one due to rain and Ngidi impressed all with his economy and pace then. He was also named in the subsequent ODI series against the same opponent that followed. But an abdominal injury meant that his maiden ODI appearance had to wait.

Lungi was dubbed to be a limited overs specialist initially. Hence, it took a few by surprise when he was handed his Test cap against India in early 2018. However, whoever had an ounce of doubt about his ability with the red ball would have got it cleared when he took a 6-wicket haul in the second innings, that helped South Africa win that match. In the following ODI series, he did feature but had no great impact then.

His exploits, though, didn’t go unnoticed and Chennai snared him up for the 2018 season of the Indian T20 League. He didn't set the stage on fire but played a vital role in his team's title triumph. Since then, the franchise has showed faith him in as Lungi was retained for the next two editions as well.