SA vs BAN: For the forthcoming home ODI series against Bangladesh, South Africa has chosen a full-strength team, barring Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala due to fitness concerns.
The three-match series, which will be played in Centurion and Johannesburg from March 18 to 23, will end just three days before the start of the IPL, which means that some of the South African players selected for the ODIs may miss some of their franchises’ early matches. Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Dwaine Pretorius, and Marco Jansen are among the eight players in South Africa’s team that will participate in the IPL.
All teams must undergo a three-day quarantine before entering the IPL bubble, although this regulation will be eased if players are arriving from another bubble. The series between South Africa and Bangladesh will be played in a “controlled environment,” which is more relaxed than a bio-bubble. Outdoor areas will be accessible to players. It’s unclear how this will influence their IPL quarantine obligations.
However, when South Africa plays Bangladesh in a Test series from March 31 to April 12, there is likely to be a greater confrontation between national duties and the IPL. The CSA had previously told ESPNcricinfo that the players will be able to choose between the Test series and the IPL.
“The players in the one-day squad who are not playing in the Tests will likely leave for IPL after the ODI series,” Victor Mpitsang, CSA’s selection convenor, told ESPNcricinfo. “We will have more clarity on the six players who are part of the Test group in the next couple of days.”
Rabada, Ngidi, van der Dussen, Markram, Jansen, and Nortje, who is a part of South Africa’s Test preparations but has missed their previous two series against India and New Zealand due to injury, appear to be the six players.
Nortje is out of the Bangladesh One-Day Internationals due to a hip ailment. It’s unclear whether he’ll be able to play in the IPL in time.
“It’s probably going to be difficult [for Nortje to go to the IPL],” Mpitsang said. “He has not really been bowling much since November. We don’t have any timeframe for his return. It’s been a long one. The medical team will give advice on whether he will be cleared for the IPL.”
Nortje’s rehabilitation has been “frustrating,” according to CSA Chief Medical Officer Dr Shuaib Manjra.
“He is currently being investigated,” Manjra told ESPNcricinfo. “He has been seen by three different orthopaedic surgeons. He is struggling with loading and doing most of the other rehab work. He hasn’t bowled for over three months.
“He is not ready for the Bangladesh series. We don’t know about the IPL. I guess it’s frustrating. He keeps fit, he works extremely hard. All goes fine, except for when he picks up his bowling loads. He has got discomfort. We have identified three different problems between back and hip and we don’t know which is primary.”
SA vs BAN squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Keshav Maharaj (vice-capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.
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