A left-arm medium pacer who was identified for greater honours at a very early age, Wayne Parnell was a player who came through the ranks before becoming the youngest South African cricketer to be handed a players' contract. After performing consistently at the Under-19 level and with the Emerging Players' team, Parnell was called up to the South African team in January 2009 even before his 20th birthday. He came to the fore soon after his debut, when he picked up nine wickets in six matches at the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009. Bigger honours awaited him as he would go on to win a $610,000 IPL contract with the Delhi Daredevils at the IPL Auction 2010. Someone who relies on accuracy and can exploit the assistance in the pitch, Parnell is also a handy lower-order batsman and can contribute useful runs, as his first-class average of 22.08 indicates.