In another sign of the power India wields in the world of cricket, several of South Africa’s leading players will cut short their Proteas duties against Pakistan to play in the Indian Premier League next month.
Former skipper Faf du Plessis is one of five other South Africans who will also travel to the IPL, but are not included in the ODI squad. It is also a sign that, given the parlous state of the game in South Africa, where governance issues have plunged the sport into one crisis after another, there is little CSA can do to stop its leading players chasing lucrative deals in the IPL. The MOU protects that right and there was little stomach to fight it.
There is little doubt that with the world’s best players competing in the IPL over two months of intense competition, players benefit from the experience. The IPL has been a laboratory for innovation in world cricket and has massively changed the game over its 13-year existence — to such an extent that it has an impact on all forms of cricket in just about every country.
It also gives the Proteas’ selectors room to blood some new players at T20I level because of the space created by the absence of the likes of Rabada, Ngidi and De Kock. “Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be. I strongly believe that I have a lot to offer to the Proteas in this format. This does not mean that ODI cricket is no longer in the plans; I’m just making T20 cricket the priority in the short term.”