Reports: South Africa Test players to choose Indian T20 League over series against Bangladesh

According to the reports, South Africa Test players will choose the Indian T20 League over the Bangladesh series at home. South Africa is set to host Bangladesh for three-match ODI and two-match series from March 18 to April 12. The series will start with the ODI series followed by the Test series. The three ODIs will be played on 18, 20, and 23 March and the first Test will be played from March 31 and the second from April 8, while the 15th season of the cash-rich league will start on March 26.

South African players such as Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, and Rassie van der Dussen have been part of the Test team over the years. These players will play for different teams in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, according to the sources, Cricket South Africa had an agreement with the Board Of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) the former will release the players for the league   

“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,” as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

Meanwhile, the South Africa Test skipper Dean Elgar had said, earlier this month that the players opting for ITL over national duties must remember playing for the nation got them the ITL contracts.

“Just this morning I got off a call with the respective personnel at CSA to try and give us a guideline as to whether the players will be available or not. The outcome of that meeting is that the players need to give CSA an indication whether they’re keen to go to the IPL or if they’re keen to play for the Test side,” Dean Elgar told Cricbuzz.

“It’s a tough one leaving that up to the players, but this is how we’ll see where their loyalty lies. They mustn’t forget that Test and one-day cricket got them into the IPL, not the other way around.”