OPINION: Sorry IPL, playing for your country must always come first

Surely the Indian Premier League will not prevent South Africa’s players from leaving the country in time to prepare properly with the Proteas team for the World Test Championship final scheduled for Lord’s in London early next month?

And surely the affected players themselves won’t hesitate to bid the IPL goodbye to join their Test team-mates for the final against Australia?

It seems a bit too much is being made of the fact the Proteas could be impacted by the absence of some key men because the IPL will now finish later than scheduled due to the recent suspension of matches because of the conflict between India and Pakistan.

The IPL was scheduled to finish on May 25, the initial date of the final, but will now finish on June 3.

Preparation for World Test Championship final

South Africa’s Test players involved in the IPL had agreed to be available for training from May 26, but now it seems there could be a fight on to get those players released before the end of the IPL.

Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad has said CSA and India’s board are in discussions about the matter, but the reality is it shouldn’t be an issue. Those Test players whose IPL teams reach the semi-finals and final should simply leave and join the Proteas team.

A World Test Championship final is massive, and something the coaching team and players have worked so hard for over the last two years. There should be no debate, ever – an international final trumps everything else.

The thing is, by the time the match against Australia gets going on 11 June it will be six months, give or take a few days, that the Proteas last played any Test cricket. It’s not ideal.

In that time the majority of the players have played mostly T20 cricket.

Good quality preparation will thus be vitally important and that’s why Conrad is right in insisting he has all his players available in good time ahead of the final. The Proteas are, after all, scheduled to warm up for the match against Australia with a game against Zimbabwe from 3 to 6 June.