The legal decision, originally referring to a Slovakian handball player, allowed players from certain countries to ply their trade in England as non-overseas players, as long as they stopped playing international cricket. While some West Indian and Zimbabwean cricketers benefitted from the loophole, by far the country most affected was South Africa, who have seen many of their best players choose the lucrative option of guaranteed employment in county cricket.

While these players won’t be left completely high and dry by the change in circumstances, with the ECB allowing for counties to play an extra overseas player from 2021 onwards to mitigate the impact, they will once again be eligible for international selection.

Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani has already had success switching back to international cricket, taking seven wickets in a super over victory against Pakistan to take top spot in Wisden’s ODI spells of the year for 2020.

It remains to be seen if South Africa will welcome back their newly available options with open arms, but there are several players who could, on merit, become key parts of the Proteas’ white-ball setup. Still searching for a World Cup triumph, the return of

The potential Kolpak returnees for South Africa

The South African players who had Kolpak deals in 2020 are: Colin Ingram, Richard Levi, Hardus Viljoen, Simon Harmer, Stiaan van Zyl, David Wiese, Kyle Abbott, Rilee Rossouw, Marchant de Lange, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Duanne Olivier, Farhaan Behardien, Vernon Philander, Hashim Amla, Cameron Delport, Dane Vilas.

South Africa’s limited-overs sides could be in for a major makeover if they choose to welcome back these Kolpak players. Quite a number have been active in franchise leagues across the globe with Colin Ingram, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese and Kyle Abbott the most fancied to walk back into the setup.

Ingram has regularly set the T20 Blast on fire, averaging 43.58 for Glamorgan since the start of 2016, while also being a prominent presence in the Pakistan Super League. He’s 35 years old, so time is against him; equally, an international recall ahead of a T20 World Cup campaign could make for a fairytale end to his career.

Abbott, who had a great World Cup in 2015 in Australia, has had a profound impact at Hampshire and although he missed the 2020 season, is all but confirmed to return as an overseas player in 2021. That only emphasizes his value, and while his departure from South Africa originally was lamented because it came with him just on the cusp of nailing down a starting place across formats, it might still not be too late for him to make a significant impact

Duanne Olivier is another seam-bowling option South Africa could use in ODIs at least.

Cameron Delport is a special case, given that he’s uncapped and so not technically a Kolpak, but rather has been playing in England on an ancestry visa. However, he has been informed by the ECB that he will no longer be able to play as a domestic player from 2021 onwards. His ball-striking exploits have made him a batsman to be feared in the T20 Blast, most notably when he smashed a 38-ball ton in a scarcely believeable 15-over total of 226-4 back in 2019, and he could prove handy at the top of the order alongside Quinton de Kock, or as a No.3 batsman. With the lack of bowling options in the top six in the current setup, Delport’s handy medium pace could potentially be a sixth bowling option.

Rossouw and David Wiese are the others who could be in with a realistic chance in the limited-overs setup. With South Africa struggling for all-rounders who can bat, Wiese’s inclusion could fill in a major gap, while Rossouw is a batsman of proven international pedigree – he averaged 38.71 and made three hundreds in 36 ODIs before departing for England – who has only enhanced his reputation, with a century in the 2019 One-Day Cup final demonstrating his big-game class.

However, what needs to be kept in mind when considering what South Africa’s teams could look like are the transformation targets which some of these players felt had cut off their options in the first place. In the 2020/21 season, the Proteas are mandated to have an average of 25 per cent of their international lie-ups be made up of Black cricketers, with 55 per cent players of colour.

Possible post-Kolpak South Africa ODI XI

Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kyle Abbott/Duanne Olivier

Possible post-Kolpak South Africa T20I XI

Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis/Cameron Delport, Rilee Rossouw, Rassie van der Dussen, Colin Ingram, David Miller/Heinrich Klaasen, David Wiese, Chris Morris/Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje