Biography

When South Africa made their comeback to international cricket in 1991, the first series they played was against India. In the squad was a little known fast bowler, Allan Donald, who, after the first match went from being unknown to being universally feared for his sheer pace and swing. He captured five wickets in that match, won the Man of the Match award and there was no looking back. By the time he had retired, had taken 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets respectively.

Christened as 'White Lightening' – which also became the title of his autobiography later – because of his lightening like pace and the white colored sun tan that he applied across his face, he troubled a lot of batsmen who faced him. But his best battles were against England's Michael Atherton, who was known as a tough opener with a cool temperament against the pacy deliveries dished out by Donald. He was, arguably, a world-class performer in the South African ranks, and commanded huge respect from teammates and fans alike. However, over bowling in the peak of his career opened the door to injuries, which ultimately resulted in his exit from the game. Donald first retired from the five-day format in the home Test against Australia in 2001-02, followed by ODIs after Proteas' exit from the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Post retirement, Donald took to the commentary box and also started coaching. His first assignment came as a bowling coach for England in 2007. However, he refused a full-time job with the national team and returned to Warwickshire, where he once enjoyed tremendous success as an overseas player. In 2013, Donald was given his first coaching stint in the IPL, when he was named head coach of the franchise Pune Warriors ahead of the tournament's sixth edition.