Rilee Rossouw

A stylish left-handed top order batsman, Rilee Rossouw decided to sign the Kolpak deal with Hampshire in 2017, thus ending his international stint with South African cricket team. 

He first came to attention in the 2008 domestic season with the Eagles. The southpaw amassed 765 runs, including three centuries to his name. A season later, Rossouw bettered his tally and scored more than 1,000 runs at an average of 66.

He was rewarded with a place in the South African A squad to tour Bangladesh in 2010, and in the next three years, the left hander struggled to break into the South African white-ball team.

Rossouw earned an IPL contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore side in 2014. The team was filled with superstars and Rossouw got limited opportunities to showcase his talent.

He finally got his maiden South African callup in an ODI game against Zimbabwe in 2014. The Bloemfontein born had a horrendous start to his international career, registering four ducks in his first six innings.

Despite the poor start to his career, the selectors continued to show faith in him as Rossouw was selected in the T20I squad to face Australia in 2014. He responded to his inclusion with a match-winning 78 that helped South Africa to win the game comfortably.

In January 2015, Rossouw slammed his maiden ODI century, against the Windies in Johannesburg. The free-flowing strokemaker played some exquisite en-route to his maiden ton.

Following the series, Rossouw was included in the South African squad for the 2015 World Cup. He played six matches in the tournament, scoring 210 runs at an average of 52.50.

Rossouw shocked Cricket South Africa in 2016, when he decided to sign the Kolpak deal with Hampshire, and was one of the several South African cricketers to leave the country to sign the deal. As a result, he was barred from playing for South Africa, ending his international career.

Post 2016, Rossouw has played T20 cricket in England, Australia and Pakistan, and has been a regular feature for Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League.

Rilee Rossouw could have been a South African legend in the future had he not decided to sign the Kolpak deal. He had all the tools to be a successful player, but after that one decision, his international career ended in a flash.

(As of May 21)