Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje are among the South African stars set to skip the national team’s two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home as it overlaps with the initial couple of weeks of the IPL 2022.
The Proteas look set to field an understrength side for the two World Test Championship versus the Asian rivals, starting March 31, five days after the Indian Premier League 2022 kicks-off.
As per ESPNcricinfo, a “unanimous” call has been made by South Africa’s IPL-bound cricketers to join their respective franchises immediately after the ODI series against Bangladesh gets over on March 23, potentially via a chartered flight to enable bubble-to-bubble transfer.
Bind by an agreement with the BCCI, Cricket South Africa had left the call on its players to decide whether they’ll choose the Bangladesh Tests or the IPL. According to this agreement, CSA gives the Proteas men’s NOCs to participate in the IPL and usually doesn’t arrange international fixtures that coincide with the lucrative T20 league.
“The original agreement with the BCCI was that we would release our players for the IPL. But the IPL window has gotten bigger, and our agreement remains the same,”
ESPNcricinfo quoted an insider close to the developments as saying.
Earlier, CSA’s decision to leave the onus on players to decide their immediate assignment at the time of IPL had led Test skipper Dean Elgar to remark that it would be a “litmus test of loyalty” for those who have signed in the IPL. Now that the players have made their stance clear, Elgar is all set to lead a weakened Test XI, especially on the fast bowling front.
Apart from Rabada (Punjab Kings), Nortje (Delhi Capitals), South Africa will also lose Lungi Ngidi (Delhi Capitals) and the promising Marco Jansen (Sunrisers Hyderabad) to the IPL ahead of Bangladesh Tests. The duo of Rabada and Jansen, in particular, was ruthlessly good in the Test series against India earlier this year, helping Proteas keep the tourists at bay with a 2-1 victory.
A rejigged and understrength bowling attack is likely to give the hapless Bangladeshis more of breathing space in what was otherwise expected to be a challenge too big for them in foreign conditions.
