HENDRICKS EXCITED TO JOIN UP WITH "COACH ROBBIE P" AT MI CAPE TOWN

MI Cape Town veteran left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks believes the Betway SA20 is “as close as you're going to get to playing in the IPL.”

Hendricks is certainly full value for his statement, having played for both Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, in the prestigious Indian Premier League.

His initial arrival in India almost a decade ago now certainly caused plenty of excitement when Kings XI Punjab, now known as the Punjab Kings, won a bidding war at the auction to secure the South African left-arm bowler for 1.8 crore (18 million rupees). Hendricks’ initial base price was only 30 lakh (300 000 rupees).

Although only 24 years old at the time with just five Proteas caps to his name, Hendricks was fresh off a record-breaking CSA T20 Challenge season with the Cape Cobras where he claimed 28 wickets at an average of 10.28 and economy of 7.

He has since experienced playing in various other T20 franchise leagues around the world such as the Caribbean Premier League and The Hundred in England.

“The standard of cricket in South Africa, we play really hard, competitive cricket. It is up there with the best in the world. It showed through performances with some magical moments on the field in Season 1,” Hendricks said.

“Top it up with all the internationals coming in now, there are four in the team, and some off the field as well. I would say this is as close as you're going to get to playing in the IPL - if not similar. I’m expecting a lot more of it in Season 2.”

Hendricks and his MI Cape Town teammates will certainly be hoping to put on a better show for the Newlands faithful in Season 2. Despite being blessed with an abundance of talent, MI Cape Town failed to maintain momentum and narrowly missed out on the playoffs in Season 2.

The 34-year-old is expecting much better performances second time around, especially with MI Cape Town having rejigged their coaching staff, with former General Manager Robin Peterson taking over as head coach from Australian Simon Katich. 

Sri Lanka legend Lasith Malinga has already replaced New Zealander Jacob Oram as the bowling coach. 

Hendricks is thrilled to be joining up with his former Cobras and Proteas teammate Peterson. 

“It was a disappointing season for us. We never quite finished where we wanted to be, but we take a lot of learnings from that,” Hendricks said.

“But we’ve announced a new coaching staff, so we can expect a lot of input from them. We’re hoping to make it a good Season 2. There haven’t been too many changes, just a couple of players and the rookie player being new to the setup. We had a good vibe last year and are just hoping to make a bigger impact on the field. 

“I actually played with Robbie P when I started my career, so we obviously spent a lot of time with him on the field. He’s obviously gone into coaching now, and we’ve developed a good relationship off the field as well. As a coach, he brings a lot of excitement and a lot of passion. He stays in tune with the current way the game is played.  We know each quite well. He knows what he can get out of me.”