Elgar happy with explanations from IPL brigade as Bangladesh Test series looms

SA Test captain Dean Elgar says he has made peace with the decision of six of his best players who will miss the two-match Test series against Bangladesh to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Proteas will line up in the first Test against Bangladesh at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday without bowling spearheads Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortjé, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and out-of-form batters Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen.

The players chose the riches of the IPL over national team duty.

Elgar had said last month, upon arrival from New Zealand where SA came from behind to draw a two-match Test series, that he expected the players to put country first over IPL's plentiful dollars.

Speaking on Monday after the first training session at Kingsmead after the team assembled to start preparations for the Bangladesh series, Elgar said the IPL brigade remain loyal to Test cricket. The captain said he was satisfied with the explanations after discussions with the affected players.

“A lot has happened since my last interview about this topic, but I’m comfortable with where I am with the players who are not here.

“I’ve had chats with those players to find out where they are mentally from playing Test cricket, the point of view of this series against Bangladesh and going to the IPL.

“I’m comfortable with the answers they have given me.”

Elgar said he has his views on the matter: “I’m confined with regards to what I can say and can’t say, but I know that the players were put in a difficult position.

“I’ve had conversations with the players and I know where they stand with regards to them playing Test cricket.

“Some of them are new in the IPL environment and they wouldn’t want to hurt their chances of playing in the competition in future and rightly so.”

There is no point sulking about the missing players. He challenged fringe members of the squad to stake a claim and challenge the regular players.

“We will have to make do with our next-best that we have in the country. It’s not ideal, but this is a great opportunity for the other guys to stand up and put those players under pressure. I’m confident they can do that.

“We have to give the other guys opportunities and exposure in future. We can’t lick our wounds for too long. I’m not one to do that, have not done it in the past and am not going to start now.”

There’s an unsustainable tendency by SA to start series poorly and recover later. That was the case in the three-match Test series against India which the Proteas won 2-1 after losing the opening match and during their tour of New Zealand where they had to come from behind to draw the two-match Test series 1-1 after suffering a thrashing in the opening game.

SA lost the first ODI in their three-match series against Bangladesh, but could not recover as the tourists completed a 2-1 victory last week to swing momentum in their favour before the Tests.

Elgar said the poor starts feature consistently in team discussions.

“It’s always a talking point for me in the squad and I have emphasised it. It is definitely a talking and thinking point within the squad.

“We need to find a way to avoid poor starts because that really sets us back, especially in a two-match Test series.”

The first Test starts at Kingsmead on Thursday and the second and final match will be at St George's Park in Gqeberha from Friday, April 8.

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