We rate the performances of the South African contingent throughout IPL 2016.

8/10

AB DE VILLIERS – 16 matches, 848 runs @ 52.84, SR 168.79, 19 catches
The Test and ODI skipper flew the South African flag the highest in this tournament, and while it might be harsh not to rate him any higher, his scores in the last four games, all of them must-wins for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, read 0, 6, 79* and 5. It was still a memorable tournament for the 32-year-old however, finishing as the third-highest run-getter and taking an incredible 19 catches, eight more than next-best Moises Henriques. He also notched up the highest score of the tournament (129 not out against the Gujarat Lions), and then heaped more misery on the table-topping Lions by rescuing his side from 29-5 to the most unlikeliest of victories.

CHRIS MORRIS – 12 matches, 195 runs @ 65, SR 178.89, 13 wkts @ 23.69, econ 7.00
One of the most expensive players in the tournament at a whopping R16.3-million, but justified his price tag with genuine pace, wickets, a burst of runs and a heap of catches. He was the whole package in this spectacle, and played a huge role in getting the Delhi Daredevils close to the playoffs. According to the IPLT20.com player points, he was the sixth best player in the tournament. He blasted the joint-quickest fifty of the season (17 balls) in his 32-ball 82 against the Gujurat Lions, and the spirit in which he played throughout made him a popular figure.

7/10

QUINTON DE KOCK – 13 matches, 445 runs @ 37.08, SR 136.08, 4 dismissals
A solid performance in general from the 23-year-old who enjoyed his best IPL season to date with a century, three half-centuries and a string of other useful displays. He didn’t let himself down with the gloves either, fending off competition from promising young Indian Sanju Samson. He did struggle, however, when the Daredevils batted first as he scored just 89 runs from the last five times they did, with a 60 included in that, and struggled to build any meaningful partnerships at the top of the order.

6/10

FAF DU PLESSIS – 6 matches, 206 runs @ 34.33, SR 127.16
A blossoming season was cut short when he broke his finger, but he was close to the top of the run-scoring charts when he was forced to fly back home. His best knocks however (69, 67) were in losing causes, but his 21-ball 30 ensured he would sign off from the competition with a victory for the otherwise disappointing Rising Pune Supergiants.

HASHIM AMLA – 6 matches, 157 runs @ 26.16, SR 131.93
Introduced at the business end of the tournament and recovered from a slow start to his IPL career with arguably his best knock in this format. His 96 for the Kings XI Punjab against the Sunrisers Hyderabad started with a flurry of classy shots, before we saw something we’d never seen before from him – ramp and paddle shots. There were 14 fours and two sixes in that innings, and that alone gives him an otherwise generous rating.

5/10

MORNE MORKEL – 10 matches, 10 wkts @ 29.70, econ 8.36
Morkel was in and out of the side which didn’t allow him to find much consistency, and inconsistent he was, with 10 wickets from his 10 matches. He made an impact at times, but he never took more than two wickets in a match, and at one point went three games without taking a wicket as the Kolkata Knight Riders slumped at the business end of the tournament. Four other KKR bowlers bowled better than him in the tournament, which proves that he was far from his best.

IMRAN TAHIR – 4 matches, 5 wkts @ 27.60, econ 8.62
Under-utilised for the Delhi Daredevils, perhaps unfairly, as he took five wickets from his first three games before being hammered for 0-59 against the Mumbai Indians. It was a far cry from his 2015 performance which saw him snare 15 wickets from 10 matches.

JP DUMINY – 10 matches, 191 runs @ 38.20, SR 122.43, 2 wkts @ 27.50, econ 7.85
Some handy contributions here and there, but not enough from the Proteas’ highest run-scorer in this format. An inflated average with a sluggish strike-rate for someone coming in to build up some steam, and only two wickets to show for his all-round efforts. He scored twice as many runs and took six more wickets last season.

4/10

TABRAIZ SHAMSI – 4 matches, 3 wkts @ 49.00
A relative unknown to RCB fans when he was called up in place of the injured Samuel Badree. Was thrust straight into the lineup and showed some potential with his tricky action, but the occasion perhaps got to his head a bit and was brought back to down to earth when he conceded 0-51 against KKR in early May. With Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson occupying three of the four overseas spots almost every game, he didn’t manage to crack that fourth spot again.

2/10

DAVID MILLER – 14 matches, 161 runs @ 16.10, SR 122.90
The flop of the season. Started the campaign as the skipper of the Kings XI Punjab with a massive reputation, ended the campaign stripped of the captaincy with a high score of 31, as his side finished at the bottom of the standings. It’s nothing he can’t recover from – he’ll have to if he wants to work his way back into the Proteas squad – but it was certainly one to forget.

KYLE ABBOTT – 5 matches, 2 wkts @ 88.50, econ 11.06
Another underachieving Kings XI export. Largely a spectator, but largely disappointing when he got a game. It was his economy rate that proved the most costly, but he wasn’t taking wickets either which added to the disappointment.