One of the major talking points ahead of every Indian Premier League (IPL) season has been about the availability of the foreign players and clash of dates with international fixtures. It was a "litmus test of loyalty" for the South African players this time and the seven players chose IPL 2022 over international duties and former India cricketer Aakash Chopra reacted on the same. (ALSO READ: WI vs ENG: Joe Root scripts incredible world record with Bridgetown masterclass against West Indies)
_1643958104068_(2)_(1)_1647581137677_1647581156457.jpg)
South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar's worst fear came true as the team will feature a weakened line-up after seven players picked IPL 2022 over the Test series against Bangladesh which will be held between March 31 and April 12. Had they chosen to play for South Africa, these players would have missed a large part of the first phase of IPL 2022. The seven players include - Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram and Anrich Nortje.
"The question that stems from this is - Is club bigger than the country? The club versus country debate has caught a little fire again. Dean Elgar had said this will be a loyalty test. The question is - Is IPL bullying the other boards?" asked Aakash in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
He then explained saying that the BCCI has no role in players making their decision and that their participation depends entirely on what the respective cricket boards have to say and whether the player has been given an NOC for which each board gets 10 per cent of the player's salary.
{{/usCountry}}He then explained saying that the BCCI has no role in players making their decision and that their participation depends entirely on what the respective cricket boards have to say and whether the player has been given an NOC for which each board gets 10 per cent of the player's salary.
{{/usCountry}}"IPL has not said anything, IPL in fact says that when Cricket South Africa gives the NOC (No Objection Certificate), they get 10% from the players' salary. This is how the market of international cricket works," he said.
Aakash then urged cricket boards not to make it difficult for players to make this decision as players are most likely to choose IPL over country.
"Do not make players make this difficult choice. The club versus country conflict will keep continuing, there will be different opinions on it but the fact is the players will choose IPL ahead of bilateral commitments and the boards will not be able to stop it," he added.