Built just like a fast bowler-tall, broad-shouldered and strong-Hardus Viljoen is a South African cricketer. He was born on 6th March 1989 in Witbank.

The cricketer is a right-arm fast bowler. He is the brother-in-law of Faf Du Plessis.

Hardus made his debut in first-class cricket for Eastern XI in the Provincial Three-Day Challenge competition against Eastern Province in 2008. In his maiden first-class appearance Hardus scored 38 and 24 in both the innings, respectively while with the ball he scalped 2 wickets in each innings at the cost of 121 runs in total. But Hardus showed his potential after three years in 2011. He finished second in Provincial Three-Day bowling charts. During this time Hardus left Benoni where he started playing for Eastern and settled at Wanderers, the pitch that always suits true fast bowling. It was 2014-15 Hardus was at his best, scalping 39 wickets in the first-class game at an average of 20.43. In the very season also in 2016-17, Hardus was in tremendous form, capturing 47 wickets at an average of 23.02 to offer for a spot in the South African squad. Hardus has played in 115 first-class matches so far and bagged 445 wickets at an economy rate of 3.56 including his best figure of 15 for 170 runs in a match. He also has scored 2257 runs including his highest score of 132. The 32-year-old fast bowler however has participated in the 95 List 'A' game and claimed 131 wickets at an economy rate of 5.92 including his bowling figure of 6 for 19 runs.

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Hardus Viljoen has participated in only one Test, steeping in at a time when the South African bowling attack was plagued by injuries. Hardus made his debut against England at Johannesburg in 2016. He managed only one wicket in the Test but proving his mettle as a fast bowler by deceiving England captain Alastair Cook. He was having difficulty having control over his speed and length during that phase. Still, he posed threat to the batsmen by unleashing accurate bouncers which were his key ammunition.

Hardus Viljoen was bought by Kings XI Punjab for the 2019 Indian Premier League and in his only IPL for the Punjab side, Hardus played in six matches and scalped 7 wickets.

Hardus Viljoen has not yet played in Twenty20 International. He has taken part in 126 T20 matches and claimed 140 wickets at an economy rate of 8.12 including his best figure of 5 for 16 runs.

The wicket-taker of Cook is awaiting more exposure in Test.