Every game you play for your country is of importance: JP Duminy

South African batsman JP Duminy is perhaps one of the few who has not signed a Kolpak deal as of yet. Of course, the fact of the matter is that those who cannot get their place cemented in the side have gone ahead with these deals, Duminy believes that the ICC’s proposal to have the associate nations involved in the same could be one that prevents the players from signing Kolpak deals in the future.

In recent times, Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the South African Cricket Board has gone on to state that the newly unveiled T20 League would hopefully prevent players from signing Kolpak deals. A few prominent players such as David Wiese, Kyle Abbott, and Rilee Rossouw have been the latest ones to sign Kolpak deals.

“The best way to answer that is something that Russell [Domingo, South Africa’s coach] harps on quite a lot. Every game that you play for your country is of importance,” Duminy said. “If that [the new system] is in place, that puts a lot more emphasis on that. If we are focusing on that, that means we are giving our best throughout the series and for every game so that’s a big bonus.”

Speaking about the world ranking and the ongoing Sri Lanka series, Duminy said that the end result should be 5-0 despite the fact that the Proteas have already won the series. “The end result is definitely about 5-nil. Tomorrow is the most important game for us but we’ve always had one eye on 5-nil,” Duminy said. “It’s always a nice thing to be ranked No.1 and that will be an added bonus for us but for now it’s about making sure we focus on what’s important for us and that is the preparation leading up to the Champions Trophy.”

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“If that’s the situation, we would be up for it,” he said. “No matter who we are playing against, it’s an opportunity to represent your country and we don’t take that for granted. Whatever comes our way, we will be up for it.”