'I don't know if they are going to be selected again' - Dean Elgar on players who skipped Bangladesh Test series for IPL

After losing the ODI series, South Africa hammered the Bangladesh side in a two-match Test series which concluded on April 11 (Monday). The visitors never looked comfortable throughout the red-ball series, as the home side completed a dominant show after winning the second Test by a huge margin of 332 runs.

To note, the home side was missing some of the prominent names, including pacer Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram, who chose to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) instead of in the Test series. However, that did not affect the Proteas, as they convincingly won both the matches.

SA skipper Dean Elgar asked them to not participate in the IPL

It is to be noted that South African skipper Dean Elgar asked the above mentioned players to not go to India and instead play for the country. However, it is quite evident that none of the players stayed as they went to feature in the cash-rich league. South Africa coach Mark Boucher also emphasized the fact that players, who have gone to play the toughest cricket league in the world, have vacated their spots.

“I don’t know if those guys are going to be selected again, that’s out of my hands,” Elgar said in a press conference on Monday. It is to be noted that, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has an agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) whereby it makes its players available for the IPL.

Coming back to the series, skipper Elgar was the highest run-getter, scoring 227 runs in four innings, at an average of 56.75, followed by Temba Bavuma (194 in four innings), Mahmudul Hasan Joy (141 in four innings), Keegan Petersen (133 in four innings) and Sarel Erwee (114 runs in four innings).

In bowling, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj was the pick of the bowlers, scalping a total of 16 wickets in two matches. He is followed by his teammate Simon Harmer (13 wickets), Mehidy Hasan (9 wickets), Taijul Islam (9 wickets) and pacer Khaled Ahmed (8 wickets).