SA include eight IPL bound cricketers for Bangladesh ODI series

Cricket South Africa announced a 16-member squad for their upcoming three-match One-Day International series against Bangladesh starting from March 18.

Pace bowler Anrich Nortje, who is recovering from a hip injury, and Sisanda Magala, who failed a fitness test, were unavailable for selection.

Before the selection, the South African players faced a litmus test of loyalty as the ODI series against Bangladesh clashed with the timing with the Indian Premier League where several Protea players were picked by the franchises.

South Africa’s Test captain, Dean Elgar, told the media, “You don’t want players to miss out on a big occasion like the IPL. But I’d still like to think playing for your country is bigger than that.”

Looks like the cricketers heard him as eight IPL bound cricketers will stay in South Africa for the Bangladesh series. They are- Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Dwaine Pretorius, and Marco Jansen.

The three ODI matches will take place on March 18, 23, and 25 in Johannesburg, and the first match of the IPL is on March 26 at Wankhede stadium Mumbai between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

The players are set to serve a three-day quarantine bubble before entering the IPL biosecurity protocol, which means the cricketers playing against Bangladesh are likely to miss the first few games for their respective teams.

“The players in the ODI squad who are not playing in the Tests will likely leave for IPL after the ODI series,” Victor Mpitsang, CSA’s selection convenor, told the media. “We will have more clarity on the six players who are part of the Test group in the next couple of days,” he added.