South Africa’s Test captain, Dean Elgar, said that he is "comfortable" with the Proteas players’ decision to opt out of the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh at home, in order to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) in India.
Earlier this month, Elgar had urged his teammates to choose the Bangladesh Test series at home over the IPL 2022 to prove their loyalty and now he admitted that South African players were put in a bit of a tough situation when he asked to choose between national duty and IPL.
Well now, all the IPL-contracted South African players, who would have been part of the Test squad for the Bangladesh series, decided to play in the IPL 2022.
As reported by ESPNCricinfo, Elgar said: “I'm comfortable where I sit with the players who aren't here. I've had some really good, in-detail chats with those players just to find out where they are mentally. I'm very comfortable with the answers that they've given me.”
The skipper further explained, “I'm pretty confined with regards to what I can and can't say but the players were put in a bit of a situation with regards to making themselves available. I'm sure they wouldn't have made a rash decision if it didn't mean a hell of a lot to them. I've had conversations with players and I know where they stand with regards to the Test side and playing Test cricket.”
He added, “I think they were put in a situation that was unavoidable, bearing in mind that quite a few of the guys have never had IPL experience before. I don't think they wanted to hurt their opportunity going forward in the competition.”
Since South Africa would not have their experienced players, Elgar said that it's a great opportunity for youngsters to shine in the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.
He signed off by saying, “We have to make do with our next best that we have in the country, who I'm still very confident in. Yes, we've lost a few Test caps along the way not having the IPL players with us, but it's a great opportunity for those guys to stand up and put those other players under pressure. I'm confident they can do that.”
(With PTI Inputs)
