South Africa's IPL bound cricketers have chosen to play in the league over the home Test series against Bangladesh, according to reports.
South Africa is slated to host Bangladesh in the three-match ODI and two-match Test series. The 50-over games will be played on 18th, 20th and 23rd March respectively while the Tests will be played from 31st March to 12th April.
The Proteas are expected to field a full-strength team in the ODIs. It was earlier learned that South African players would miss the initial phase of the IPL 2022 and will only join the league after the Test series against Bangladesh.
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However, the latest report in ESPNCricinfo suggests that the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram will be available from the first game of IPL 15. The hosts are now expected to play a second-string side against Bangladesh in the Test series.
Earlier skipper Dean Elgar had urged his players to choose the national side over IPL and called it a loyalty test for them ahead of the tournament.
The IPL 2022 is all set to begin from 26th March in Maharashtra. The tournament this year will see 10 teams competing with each other, which have been divided into two groups of five each.
Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen will represent Sunrisers Hyderabad while Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will play for Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals respectively. There’s still no confirmation about the availability of Anrich Nortje, who was retained by DC, due to fitness issues.
(With PTI inputs)