Players of South Africa can only join their respective teams in IPL 2023 only after their ODI series against the Netherlands later this month.
The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to start in the world’s largest stadium, Ahmadabad with a match between IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings on March 31. But, The bad news is that South African players will not be available for the first few days of the tournament which is a matter of concern for Top IPL teams.
The South Africans missing the tournament will till April 3 will also include Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram, Delhi Capitals pacers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, GT star batter David Miller, according to ESPNCric info website.
According to the report, Cricket South Africa (CSA) informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it wants all of its big performers to be available for the two-match home ODI series against the Netherlands that gets underway in late March. To directly qualify for ODI World Cup 2023 which is going to take place in India this year, South Africa must defeat the Netherlands in the series.
The Netherlands this week unveiled a potent lineup for the ODIs in South Africa and the series in Zimbabwe. The South African teams are slated to play on March 31 and April 2 in Benoni and Johannesburg, respectively, in both of those ODI Super League series.
Mumbai Indians (Tristan Stubbs, possibly Dewald Brevis), defending champions Gujarat Titans (Miller), Lucknow Super Giants (Quinton de Kock), Punjab Kings (Rabada) Sunrisers Hyderabad (Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen), Delhi Capitals (Nortje, Lungi Ngidi), have South Africa players in the side.
“The top eight teams in the ODI Super League automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup while the bottom five will have to play the World Cup Qualifiers along with five Associate teams. South Africa is currently at No. 9, and in a race along with West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland to get a direct World Cup entry. The BCCI understands the importance of the Netherlands series to us automatically qualifying for the 2023 World Cup,” CSA’s chief executive officer Pholetsi Moseki told ESPNcricinfo.
The SRH team management may need to look at Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the stop-gap captain once again till Markram is able to join the team. Bhuvi had led the side in IPL 2022 as well as former skipper Kane Williamson joined the side late in the tournament.
Hardik Pandya’s GT will miss the company of Miller, who was instrumental in their title-winning run in IPL 2022. Miller scored 481 runs at an excellent average of 68.71 at a strike-rate of 142.73 with a top-score of 94 not out last year.
