10 facts about Colin Ingram: The 6.4 crore pick by Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2019 auction

With a whopping Rs 6.4 crore bid, Colin Ingram sailed his way back to the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday. The 33-year-old southpaw has been performing exceedingly well in domestic tournaments, most notably he was a crucial member of the Adelaide Strikers side who lifted the BBL trophy last edition.

Delhi Capitals made some interesting signings on the day which includes the likes of Hanuma Vihari, Ishant Sharma, Nathu Singh, and Axar Patel to bolster their title challenge. Delhi had earlier traded Shikhar Dhawan into the side by sending three players to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

After some interesting stints with Adelaide Strikers, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Karachi Kings, Ingram will rejoin the Delhi franchise having represented the club previously in 2011 and 2012 editions. In a team full of blazing openers, the southpaw will play a crucial role as their main man in the middle order.

Here are some unknown facts about the South African.

1. Born in Port Elizabeth

Colin Ingram was born on 3rd July 1985 in the beautiful city of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. His love for cricket started at a very young age when he saw Clive Rice and company broke the Apartheid barriers and brought cricket back to the country. He actively played cricket during his school days and grabbed a lot of attention during his early teen days.

2. A local star in his college years

When he joined the Woodridge College team, he instantly became a star in his surroundings. He played for the college for 5 years and captained them for three of those years. He later accepted a scholarship to study at the University of the Free State in 2004 and moved to Bloemfontein.

3. First class debut at the age of 19

A string of huge scores at the early college level earned him enough attention to make his first-class debut at a young age of 19 in 2004-05. His career at the first-class level for Free State, Eastern Province, Glamorgan, and Somerset didn’t prove to be incredible, but he did amass decent stats. He registered 6,641 runs in 111 FC games at an average of 37.30. He continued to impress in List A cricket though and it paid dividends.

4. Only South African to score a hundred on debut

A persistent shower of big scores in List A cricket for Warriors helped him win his maiden cap against Zimbabwe in October 2010. Exactly a week later, he made his ODI debut as well and became the first South African to register a hundred on debut. He clobbered a 126-ball 124, which included 8 fours and 2 sixes. He went on to feature in the South African squad in the 2011 World Cup.

5. Loved playing against Pakistan

He might not accept it in person, but Ingram always had a great outing with the willow against Pakistan. Two of the three centuries he scored for South Africa came against Pakistan. In just his fifth ODI innings, he got his second century in Abu Dhabi against the Men in Green and slammed another ton against them in 2013 in Bloemfontein.

6. Made a cameo appearance in IPL

Banking on his impressive early days of international cricket, he was bought by Delhi Capitals in the 2011 Auction for a base price of $100,000. He could play just three games for the franchise and scored 21 runs. He will be desperate to glorify those statistics with an impressive show in the upcoming season.

7. Took the “Koplak” route to England

After his form deteriorated and he lost his place in the international side, he moved to Glamorgan via the Koplak deal, which saw him become ineligible to play for South Africa. This was the period when he became a T20 sensation as he spanked over 500 runs in the 2016 Natwest T20 Blast.

8. A career-changing stint with Adelaide Strikers

This was the time when his career changed completely as the Travis Head-Colin Ingram led Adelaide Strikers won their first BBL title in history. When Head was doing his national duties, Ingram led the side on his behalf in a crucial middle phase and Adelaide finished second at the end of the group stages. He has been appointed as the captain for the upcoming season as Travis Head is with the Australian Test side.

9. Impressive stints in PSL and APL

In the Pakistan Super League 2018, he registered 243 runs at an average of 34.71 and an impressive strike-rate in excess of 140 for the Karachi Kings. Representing the eventual runners Kabul Zwanan in APL, he mustered 206 runs in 9 innings. All of this hardwork had to pay off and it did big time on Tuesday for him.

10. Found no buyers in the MSL T20

The Mzansi Super League was Cricket South Africa’s newest global T20 tournament and it really was surprising to see no team going after Ingram. Considering his experience of playing in the homeland and recent track record, there were some raised eyebrows when there were no doors open for him. Destiny though had set up another lucrative door for him and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares in his second IPL stint.

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