ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Five South African players to watch out for

Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 we look at five New Zealand players to watch out for – AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir
AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers has taken a break from Test cricket to focus on limited-overs cricket, and appears determined to lead South Africa to their first piece of limited-overs silverware since the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Leading up to his fourth Champions trophy appearance, de Villiers form has been patchy with the bat as he scored 216 runs in nine innings in the IPL with only one fifty plus score.But de Villiers will have fond memories of the last time he played at the Champions Trophy in 2013. During the tournament, de Villiers led South Africa to the semi-finals scoring 138 runs in four matches.
Hashim Amla

One of the most prolific batsmen currently, Amla is not looked at in the same league as a Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Martin Guptill or Alex Hales, but Amla’s consistency in the 50-over format is matched by only a few. Coming off the heels of a good Indian Premier League, in which he scored 420 runs in 10 matches including two hundred plus scores and two fifties, Amla will be looking to extend his good run of form. In company of a returning Quinton de Kock from injury, the duo will be one of the most dangerous opening pair in the tournament. During the warm-up game and ODIs against England just before the start of the CT, Amla has reeled off two consecutive fifty plus scores.
Quinton de Kock

The returning wicket-keeper batsman hit his strides with a 78-ball 104 against Sussex earlier this week as South Africa warmed up for their ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy. He missed the IPL because of a ligament tear on his right index finger, but prior to that, de Kock hit 526 runs in 12 one-dayers played in 2017 including a hundred and two fifties. De Kock, who has had a phenomenal last 12 months, bagged the SA Cricketer of the Year, ODI Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year, SA Players' Player of the Year and the SA Fans' Player of the Year.
Kagiso Rabada

De Kock’s 'five-star' feat was bettered only by Kagiso Rabada, who claimed six awards at the corresponding ceremony in 2016. Since his international debut in 2015, Rabada has had a steady rise and soon found himself a mainstay in all three formats for South Africa and lead the Proteas attack in the 2016 T20 World Cup. Rabada has 21 wickets to his name in 12 matches played in 2017 bowling at an average of 24.04. Alongside Chris Morris and Morne Morkel, he will form a potent fast bowling attack.
Imran Tahir

Tahir has warmed up to the Champions Trophy win a good IPL season in which he claimed 20 wickets at an average of 20.50 for Rising Pune Supergiant and has been very effective as a container for South Africa in the middle overs. It is no coincidence that the legspinner’s rich form came in the same time as South Africa rose to number one the ODI rankings. With 16 wickets in 11 matches played in 2017 at an economy of 4.78, the former Pakistan under-19 player will be a key player for for South Africa.