XtraTime Web Desk: Good news for all the franchises ahead of the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) with Cricket South Africa, Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith expecting the Proteas cricketers to join their respective franchises by first week of September.
“We’re struggling to find a time now, with the IPL being fitted in. It looks like our players are going to be needed from the beginning of September, government permitting and travel permitting,” said Smith during a virtual press conference on Saturday.
The cash rich league will be staged in UAE from September 19 to November 08 because of the coronavirus pandemic. However everything will depend on the Government permission and the resumption of international flights from South Africa.
It emerged this week that Colin Ingram, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi and Rassie van der Dussen would, because of travel restrictions, not be able to be in Trinidad by Saturday to serve a required 14-day quarantine to fulfil their CPL contracts. That leaves Pakistan-born Imran Tahir as the sole South African in the competition.
But there are hopes that South Africa’s IPL contingent – Faf du Plessis, Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Hardus Viljoen, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Chris Morris and Dale Steyn – will be able to make the trip to the UAE.
Cricket South Africa’s proposed tour to the Caribbean has also been called off indefinitely due to the pandemic.
“West Indies has been postponed indefinitely,” said Graeme Smith. The Proteas were supposed to play a series of two Tests and five T20Is scheduled from July 23 to August 16. The three ODIs and three T20Is South Africa were to have played in Sri Lanka in June have also suffered the same fate.