Meanwhile, England T20 stalwart Jos Buttler will leave for national duty after completing Gujarat Titans’s last three league engagements
South African players. Pic/AFP
The BCCI on Thursday instructed the IPL franchises to release eight WTC-bound South African players latest by May 26, making them unavailable for the Playoffs.
Following the ceasefire, it was decided to resume the IPL from May 17 with the final pushed back to June 3 from May 25. Meanwhile, England T20 stalwart Jos Buttler will leave for national duty after completing Gujarat Titans’s last three league engagements.
Earlier, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that SA players were expected to stay until the tournament end, potentially impacting their preparation for the WTC final. The newspaper reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) allegedly used its influence to ensure South African players' continued participation.
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"One thing we have made clear, and we are finalizing it with the IPL and the BCCI, is that we are sticking to our original plan when it comes to WTC preparations with May 26 being the latest for the Test guys to come back," CSA's director of cricket Enoch Nkwe had said, as quoted from The Sydney Morning Herald.
However, in just few hours, CSA's director Enoch Nkwe changed his stance, saying higher-level talks were happening between CSA, the BCCI, and IPL franchises, suggesting CSA had little choice in the matter.
"Correction - the squad will resume training for the game on June 3rd," he declared."The matter is being discussed higher up than me. At ground level, we are focusing on preps for the WTC final," he said.
The IPL is a much bigger money-maker than the WTC final, which has led to tough discussions about scheduling between cricket boards and IPL franchises. Cricket South Africa (CSA) initially insisted that their eight IPL players would leave by May 25 to prepare for the final.
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