CSA postpones IPL players’ return date, delays WTC Final preparations by a week

Although fans may be excited about the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) return, it appears to be having an impact on the planning of important international events. It is extremely difficult for Cricket South Africa (CSA) to prepare their players for the June 11 start of the World Test Championship final at Lord’s.

After border disputes between India and Pakistan, the IPL 2025, which was initially scheduled to end by May 25, had to be postponed even more.

After being suspended for almost ten days, the event has now been extended until Tuesday, June 3. Because of this, the South African cricket board has made the decision to postpone its trip to the UK by around a week in order to play the reigning champions, Australia, in the WTC.

It was previously stated by Enoch Nkwe, the CSA Director of Cricket, that the players participating in the World Test Championship (WTC) final would need to return by May 26. The player would have had enough time to get ready for the big event versus the Australian team captained by Pat Cummins.

Nkwe was reported by “The Sunday Morning Herald” as saying, “One thing we’ve made clear, and we are finalising it with the IPL and the BCCI, is that we are sticking to our original plan when it comes to WTC preparations, with May 26 being the latest for the Test guys to come back.”

But the director’s statement abruptly changed course, stating that the final training will now start on June 3 and that people far above his position will be discussing the issue. The players would only have about a week to get ready for their first-ever WTC final.

Correction: on June 3rd, the team will start practicing again for the match. The issue is being discussed at a higher level than I am. Nkwe reversed the earlier statement, saying, “At ground level, we are focussing on preps for the WTC final.”

South Africa and Australia squads for the WTC final

South Africa squad: Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy

Australia squad: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann. (Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett)