‘Playing for your country is bigger – Dean Elgar feels South African cricketers should prioritise playing for their nation over IPL

The 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will commence on 26th March 2022. And, ahead of the hugely awaited Indian T20 League, South African Test skipper Dean Elgar has asked his players not to take part in the IPL.

Elgar said that he received a call from the representative at Cricket South Africa (CSA) regarding the player’s availability for South Africa’s series against Bangladesh. The series between the two sides will conclude only on 12th April 2022. And, Elgar added that the players need to brief CSA whether they will offer their services for the South African Test side or play in the IPL.

“Just this morning I got off a call with the respective personnel at CSA to try and give us a guideline as to whether the players will be available or not. The outcome of that meeting is that the players need to give CSA an indication whether they’re keen to go to the IPL or if they’re keen to play for the Test side,” said Elgar as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Things will get clearer by next week: Dean Elgar

Dean Elgar also stated that this decision from the players will reveal where their loyalty lies. Adding that it was only Test and ODI cricket that got the players to the IPL in the first place, Elgar revealed that there will be more clarity on the matter by next week.

“It’s a tough one leaving that up to the players, but this is how we’ll see where their loyalty lies. They mustn’t forget that Test and one-day cricket got them into the IPL, not the other way around. Hopefully by next week that will be clearer for us,” added Elgar.

Elgar also said that players would not like to miss out on a massive tournament like the IPL, and concluded by stating that playing for the country is bigger than playing in the IPL.

“You don’t want players to miss out on a big occasion like the IPL, by no means. But I’d still like to think playing for your country is bigger than that,” concluded Elgar.