WTC final-bound South Africa players likely to leave before IPL playoffs

The eight South African players involved in both IPL 2025 and the World Test Championship (WTC) final are expected to leave India by May 25, as per the initial NOCs issued to them.

Kagiso Rabada (GT), Lungi Ngidi (RCB), Tristan Stubbs (DC), Aiden Markram (LSG), Ryan Rickelton, Corbin Bosch (both MI), Marco Jansen (PBKS) and Wiaan Mulder (SRH) will return home to South Africa before leaving for the United Kingdom on May 30 with the rest of the squad. That will rule them out of the rescheduled IPL playoffs which is an issue currently under discussion between CSA and the BCCI.

ESPNcricinfo understands that given the importance of the WTC final, CSA is hopeful the BCCI will understand their decision to not extend NOCs for those players to June 3 but concerned that it will create tension in the relationship between the two boards. National coach Shukri Conrad and director of national teams and high performance Enoch Nkwe both said they understood that the May 25 deadline was still in place.

"The initial agreement with IPL-BCCI was, with the final being on the 25th, our players would return on the 26th, so that it allows them ample time before we fly out on the 30th," Conrad said in Johannesburg after South Africa announced their WTC final squad. "That is the ongoing conversations that are being had between people in a higher pay grade than I am - the director of cricket [Nkwe] and Pholetsi [Moselki, the CSA chief executive]. They're dealing with that. We want our players back on the 26th and hopefully that comes to fruition."

Nkwe, at the same engagement, indicated talks were ongoing and CSA was hopeful the players would prioritise the WTC.

"It is an individual decision, obviously, to return or to play or continue," Nkwe said. "But one thing we've made it clear, and we are finalising that with IPL and BCCI, is sticking to our original plan when it comes to the WTC preparations, obviously with May 26 being the latest for the Test guys to come back."

South Africa will arrive in England on May 31 and then play Zimbabwe in a four-day warm-up match in Arundel from June 3, the day of the final of the IPL. The WTC final runs from June 11 to 15.

GT, RCB, PBKS and MI are well-placed to finish in the top four in the IPL 2025 points table with DC also having a chance to make the playoffs. SRH are already knocked out of the race to the playoffs while LSG are on the brink of elimination.

GT might miss Rabada for the playoffs while PBKS might be without Jansen, if CSA sticks to its initial agreement with the IPL.