South Africa take tough stance on IPL, ask players to join WTC team by May 26

The South African players selected for the World Test Championship final against Australia are likely to miss playing IPL playoffs as the country's cricket board prioritised national duty over league commitments.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has directed its players selected for the WTC final to join the team by May 26 to prepare for the tournament decider. The final will be held from June 11-15 at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

"May 26 is the latest for the Test guys to come back. The original plans don't change because the No. 1 priority is the WTC final. We've been engaging with them over the last day or two to make sure we're all on the same page," CSA's director of national teams and high performance, Enoch Nkwe, said during a press conference.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that IPL will resume on May 17 and the final will be held on June 3. The tournament was suspended on May 9 following a military confrontation between India and Pakistan. 

The new schedule puts both South African and Australian players in a tight spot. If they stay back for IPL, they will not get enough time to prepare for the WTC final. The BCCI is pressurising foreign boards to make their players available for the remainder of the tournament.

However, CSA has reiterated its commitment to WTC Final preparations. "One thing we've made clear, and we are finalising this with the IPL and the BCCI, is sticking to our original plan regarding the WTC preparations. Our initial agreement with IPL-BCCI was that, with the final being on the 25th, our players would return on the 26th, allowing them ample time before we fly out on the 30th. As it stands, we're not budging on this. We want our players back on the 26th," Enoch Nkwe said. 

The South African players named in the squad representing IPL teams are Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Royal Chalengers Bengaluru), Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals), Aiden Markram (Lucknow Super Giants), Ryan Rickelton (Mumbai Indians), Corbin Bosch (MI), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings) and Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad).

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia has allowed its players to decide individually whether to continue in IPL or to join the WTC final preparations.