Are South Africa’s IPL giants on the brink of missing out on the playoffs? Here’s why

The IPL players from South Africa are torn between WTC final success and playoff victory. Will there be a compromise by CSA and BCCI?

Eight South African cricketers who are currently taking part in the IPL are to depart India by May 25 in order to prepare themselves for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Their No Objection Certificates (NOCs), according to the initial agreements, are only till that date.

These players include Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals), Aiden Markram (Lucknow Super Giants), Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch (both Mumbai Indians), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings), and Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad).

All eight are due back in South Africa before the team departs for the UK on May 30. This would exclude them from the IPL playoffs, an issue of ongoing debate between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

National team head coach Shukri Conrad reaffirmed that the May 25 deadline holds.

“The original plan with IPL-BCCI was, with the last one on the 25th, our players would get back on the 26th, so that it gives them enough time before we leave on the 30th,” Conrad is quoted as saying in Johannesburg after revealing South Africa’s WTC final team.

That’s the going conversation that’s been had among people in a greater salary bracket than myself – cricket director Nkwe and head of cricket operations Pholetsi Moselki, CSA’s chief executive.” They’re trying to deal with that. We want to have our players on the field again on the 26th and hopefully it’s made good.