South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad clarified that the WTC final players will leave IPL by May 25. As things stand, BCCI and CSA officials are in conversation, but Conrad noted that they will not budge and call back the players.
Cricket South Africa has clarified that all their players will be back in the country by May 25, so that it allows them plenty of time to prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. Due to the rising tension in various border areas, the BCCI officials were forced to suspend the tournament midway. After a ceasefire was announced, the governing council announced revised dates, with the final taking place on June 3, nine days later than the original plan.
The BCCI officials reached out to Cricket South Africa with the proposal of allowing its players to extend their stay in the IPL, but as the body noted the importance of the WTC final and denied the request. South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad highlighted the development, stating that the Director of Cricket and CSA CEO are dealing with the IPL official,s but they are in no mood to change their stance.
“The initial agreement with the IPL and the BCCI was with the final being on the (May) 25th, our players would return on the 26th so that it allows them ample time before we fly out on the 30th. Nothing has changed from our perspective,” Conrad said.
“That is the ongoing conversation that are being had between people in a higher pay grade than I am, i.e. the Director of Cricket (Enoch Nkwe) and Pholetsi Mosek (CSA CEO), so they’re dealing with that. But as it stands, we’re not budging on that, I don’t think. We want our players back on the 26th, and hopefully that comes to fruition,” he added.
Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings), Aiden Markram (Lucknow SuperGiants), Corbin Bosch (Mumbai Indians), Ryan Rickelton (Mumbai Indians), Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), and Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals) have been named in the WTC final squad and are also extremely important for their respective franchises.
