Cricket in South Africa was plunged into a major crisis when SASCOC, the government agency suspended Cricket South Africa and took over the daily operations of the running of the board. With the ICC regulations prohibiting any form of government interference in cricket operations of a board, the move risks a potential ban for the South Africa cricket team from international games. This could be the second time that South Africa could be banned from international cricket, with the first being from 1970 to 1991 due to the Apartheid policies of the government.
With his latest crisis, the questions that arise is that will the South Africa players be allowed to participate in IPL 2020? The likes of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris and David Miller are all playing for major franchises like the Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals.
The reports that are coming out in this ongoing crisis is that all the South Africa players are free to participate in IPL 2020. There will be no hindrances to their representation for the various franchises.
Unprecedented crisis
Cricket South Africa, on their official Twitter account, have stated that they do not agree with the decision of the SASCOC to suspend them and take over the daily operations of the cricket board. It pointed out that they have not had the chance to engage with the SASCOC but they are open to helping them out in any instance.
South Africa cricket is in major crisis after the country’s cricket board, Cricket South Africa was suspended by the Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, a government body overlooking the broader sports in the country. This has meant that Cricket South Africa has ceased daily operations and it throws into doubt the future of the team in international cricket. International Cricket Council (ICC) rules forbid government interference and this could mean that the national team’s participation in international tournaments could be jeopardized.
This unprecedented development comes after months of turmoil in the Cricket South Africa administration. In the last one year, Cricket South Africa has been dogged by many issues especially from December 2019. Three major issues have been Racism, payment row and corruption charges. The firing of their CEO Thabang Moroe was the first in the series of administrative crisis to dog Cricket South Africa.
