South Africa has allowed its top cricketers to take part in the IPL until June 3 despite the fact that the World Test Championship (WTC) final is at hand. The shift is a significant change from their initial plan to begin WTC preparations on May 26.

South Africa Changes Their Plan

Originally, to begin with, CSA has imposed an RTD on all Test players; by May 26, Test players had to return to prepare for the WTC final against Australia at Lord’s. But now, after the IPL moved its schedule, the board has extended the deadline by a week.

CSA’s director of cricket, Enoch, stopped the May 26 date first. Farquhar had said earlier in the day that players would begin reporting to the camp on June 2, then he updated that to June 3 later in the day.

“Correction – the squad will resume training when the game on June 3 is around the corner,” Nkwe said.“This is a higher-level discussion that we are having here. We’re just concentrating on preparing for the final.”

Why the Delay?

The season was halted, and the new dates are May 17- June 3. Because a few of their players who featured for the Proteas in Sri Lanka will still be involved in the IPL, CSA has decided to allow them to remain with their Indian franchises until the conclusion of the tournament.

8 Key Players Still in the IPL

South Africa has eight players from the squad that played the WTC final currently playing in the IPL.
This includes top performers like:

• Tristan Stubbs

• Kagiso Rabada

• Marco Jansen
• Ryan Rickelton

These players are not only crucial for their IPL teams but also vital for South Africa’s WTC campaign.

Impact on WTC Final Preparations

This late return could affect South Africa’s plans for a practice match against Zimbabwe, which was supposed to take place in Arundel, England starting June 3. Now, that warm-up match may be skipped or modified.

Australia Takes a Different Route

While South Africa is letting its players stay in the IPL till the end, Cricket Australia is planning to call back its five IPL players earlier to start preparing for the WTC final. Australia is aiming to defend its title and wants full focus on the big game.

Interestingly, some reports suggest that the decision by South Africa might be influenced by the IPL franchise owners, many of whom also own teams in South Africa’s SA20 league.

WTC Final Date

The WTC Final 2025 is set to be held at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, starting from June 11.