Protea pacers will play IPL, not Test against Bangladesh!
Protea pacers will play IPL, not Test against Bangladesh!
Which series will the South African cricketers play in the series against Bangladesh or IPL? After facing such a difficult question, the Proteas cricketers said that they would take part in the series against Bangladesh rather than the IPL.
That is why Cricket South Africa announced an ODI squad against Bangladesh with eight cricketers under the IPL contract. However, the contracted cricketers in the IPL will only play ODI series, not Test series. They will go to play IPL after playing ODI series.
ESPN Cricinfo reported such a news earlier today (around 9 pm on Tuesday). According to the popular cricket website, South Africa are not getting at least their first-rate pace attack in the Test series.
Neither Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Engidi, Marco Johnson nor Enrique Norkia will feature in the four-match Test series. Rabada and Engidi have signed deals with Delhi Capitals. And fast bowler Marco Johnson, who beat India at home late last year, will play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
In addition, Enrique Norkia will not be able to play in any of the IPL contracts. Because he is injured. He last played a first-class match in July last year. This pacer was also in Delhi Capitals. But injury will not allow him to play in IPL.
The IPL is basically an agreement between the South African Cricket Board and the BCCI. South Africa will not host or play any series during the IPL and their players will have to give No Objection Certificate or NOC unconditionally.
That is what South Africa was doing. However, this time the situation is different. This time IPL will be held for the longest time (59 days). At the same time, the Bangladesh series came in front of the Proteas. That is why a few days ago, cricket left it to the South African cricketers to decide whether they will play Bangladesh series or IPL.
But Test captain Dean Elgar commented that it was a big moral question for cricketers. They should play for the national team. As such, the cricketers have made themselves available for the ODI series but have not been able to do so for the Tests.
The three-match ODI series will start on March 18 and end on March 23. The second ODI will be held on March 20. The IPL will start from March 26. So, even if the Rabada-Engidis play ODIs perfectly, it will not be a big problem for them to play in the IPL.
Without Rabada-Engidi and Janssen, Lutho Simapala and Lizad Williams could get a chance in the team against Bangladesh. With genuine spinner Keshav Maharaj is there.
However, it is learned that head coach Mark Boucher is trying to persuade the contracted cricketers of the IPL, who are Test specialists, to give priority to the national team game over the IPL. If Boucher is able, the Rabada-Engidis could be seen playing at least the first Test.