The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to rely on the director of Cricket South Africa (CSA) to arbitrate a solution for elite South African players’ availability in the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). Smith’s term as CSA director will come to an end on March 31.
Some of South Africa’s best cricketers may miss three weeks of the IPL owing to a home series against Bangladesh, which begins March 18 and ends April 12 and includes three ODIs and two Tests. Dean Elgar, the Test captain, has said that he would attempt to persuade Proteas players to choose national service over the IPL.
Quinton de Kock, who withdrew from Test cricket earlier this year, is the only player who is free of this issue. However, the availability of players like Kagiso Rabada (Punjab Kings), Nortje (DC), Marco Jansen (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and Lungi Ngidi is still in doubt (DC).
According to reports, the BCCI will approach Graeme Smith to ensure that South African players are available for the IPL 2022 season.
Dwayne Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, and David Miller are among the other players on the team. The BCCI is set to contact CSA director Graeme Smith in order to find a solution to this impasse.
They’ll be hoping that the BCCI’s decision to continue with the A tour and then send the senior squad to South Africa for three Tests and three ODIs despite the third wave of the Covid-19 epidemic and growing Omicron variant instances gives them enough power.
The BCCI will contact Graeme Smith to see whether any of the top players are available sooner than expected. We are optimistic about finding a solution since we have a good working relationship with CSA. “If they aren’t accessible for three weeks, some of the franchises would suffer,” a top BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The CSA has named its 18-man ODI squad for the Bangladesh series, which includes De Kock, Rabada, Markram, Ngidi, Jansen, and Pretorius.
The BCCI and CSA will have to find a middle ground, and it’s possible that some players could depart after the first Test, which concludes on March 4. Even so, following a three-day quarantine, the Test specialists will be away for a total of 12 days (almost two weeks), which equates to at least three IPL games.