“I don’t know whether he will be re-elected or not? It’s not in my hands.” South Africa’s Test captain Dean Elgar said this while warning players who prefer IPL over the Test series against Bangladesh. Several Proteas players, including Kagiso Rabada, Marco Yansen, Lungi Ngidi, Enrique Nortje, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram, chose the IPL over the Test series.
Clearly the South African management is not happy with this. Coach Mark Boucher also seemed to agree with his captain. “They went to the IPL and vacated their places,” he said. In the absence of these players, South Africa won both the Tests to win the series 2–0. South Africa lost the ODI series to Bangladesh and before that won the Test and ODI series against India.
Elgar said, “If you are playing good cricket and the results are going according to you, then it takes the burden of captaincy down. The past year has been very challenging off the field, but I have players who understand me and respect me as a player and as a person. They understand what kind of cricket I want to play. Most senior players are aware of this. We are in a very special place. I feel very happy with my work.”
South Africa will tour England for the Test series in August. Elgar said, “Hopefully I have introduced a style of play that we will follow in the future. I love challenges, which is why I am still playing Test cricket at almost 35 years old. I feel like I have good years left, probably my best years left. I am really enjoying it. I guess if I was young, I might not have had that much fun.”