The 15th release of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) is to get underway from 26th March and the top-notch players, centrally contracted by boards or not, are set to miss their international cricket schedules to play the cash-rich league. Players from all across the world often ditch their national duties to earn some extra pennies from the IPL.
South Africa cricketers fail in the loyalty Test, prefer IPL over country
In recent developments, Cricket South Africa (CSA) gave a free hand to its players to choose IPL or national duties. And, it is sad to see a few have opted for the tournament rather than the upcoming Test series versus Bangladesh. The format’s skipper Dean Elgar earlier called it ‘the loyalty Test’ and sadly, it is a huge disappointment to see for him that IPL-bound South African players have failed to prioritize country over IPL.
Notably, CSA was in contract with the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) not to plan any international fixture during the IPL tenure. But, since adding two new teams in the extravaganza have increased IPL, 2022 duration, the South Africa Test series versus Bangladesh is in the clash with the money-rich league.
A source informed ESPN Cricinfo,
“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,”
The Proteas will be without the frontline pacemen including Kagiso Rabada, Marco Janse, and Lungi Ngidi. Hence, South Africa bowling line-up is going to be a mystery. It must be noted the IPL 2022 kick-starts on 26th March whereas, it will end on 29th May, whereas, the Bangladesh test series will begin on March 31st. The two teams will feature in two red-ball encounters.
