South Africa-India series deep in IPL auction shadow

It’s not often that a men’s T20I series is a dress rehearsal for a purely franchise tournament player auction, but there’s nothing casual about the IPL. With the auction for next year’s tournament looming on November 24 and 25, several of those involved in the rubber between South Africa and India will be feeling the heat of the IPL limelight.

A good performance in the four games – the first of them at Kingsmead on Friday, the last at Wanderers next Friday – could make some of them rich. Conversely, should they not live up to expectations, they may end up without an agreement and thus have significantly less money in the bank.

Of South Africa’s 16-strong squad, including Lutho Sipamla, who is not in the mix for the first two games, only Heinrich Klaasen has been retained; of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Only two of the remaining 14 – Mihlali Mpongwana and Andile Simelane – are not up for auction.

Eleven of India’s 15 have been retained. The exceptions are Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Avesh Khan, all of whom have made themselves available to be bought.

The full list counts 1,574 players. There are 1,165 Indians and 409 foreigners from 16 countries. Ninety-one of them are South Africans, more than from any country other than India.

Not that the 16 players from both teams who are due for IPL auditions during the series will have the franchise owners’ attention to themselves. During the same eight days that South Africa and India play each other, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies, England, Australia and the Netherlands will also be in action. So are Pakistan, Oman, Indonesia and Myanmar, but none of their players are in the auction.

That the series pits this year’s T20 World Cup finalists against each other lies deep in the shadow of the overall IPL story. So any notion that the South Africans will be out to make up for the seven-run loss they suffered in that match is hopelessly naïve.

It’s also hard to outline a relevant narrative for the rubber given that the next WC in the format isn’t until February and March 2026. Unless the narrative, as it is with the IPL, is about money – CSA will earn around 8.6 USD -million in broadcast revenue from each of the four games.

An old saying about cricket is that it is a team game for individuals. That’s still true, but there’s a twist in this case. From this Friday to the next in South Africa, it will be nothing more, nothing less than a game for 16 people trying to excel, not for a team, but for the signature of the owners of one of 10 franchises on a paycheck.

But there is actually another reason why the series is important. We have all heard that cricket is undergoing a revolution. This is a significant skirmish in the ongoing struggle towards a more realistic future.

For the first two games:

When: 8 and 10 November 2024; 5:00 PM and 4:00 PM local time (8:30 PM and 7:30 PM IST)

Where: Kingsmead, Durban and St George’s Park, Gqeberha

What you can expect: These are South Africa’s slowest pitches, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be subcontinental. Although Durban has an unfortunate habit of raining on cricket matches, the forecast says that should not happen on Friday. There is a slight chance of showers in Gqeberha on Sunday.

Keep news:

South Africa:

For the first time since the T20 World Cup in June, South Africa will be able to field seven of the XI that took them to the final of that tournament. But not Quinton de Kock, who has gone fishing, and Kagiso Rabada, who has been rested. Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi are available but were not selected.

Possible XI: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Nqaba Peter, Ottneil Baartman

India:

Ramandeep Singh and Vijaykumar Vyshak are in an India squad for the first time. Yash Dayal has been in the Test squad but remains uncapped. Riyan Parag is out with what the BCCI described as a “chronic right shoulder injury”. Shivam Dube and Mayank Yadav are also nursing issues but theirs have not been detailed.

Possible XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh

What they said:

“I don’t think that’s the focus. But we all know that with things like an auction and especially for a big tournament like the IPL, a lot of things can fall into place for players. And we’re lucky that we’re playing a series against them pretty much right before the auction takes place.” – Aiden Markram plays open cards about the series’ bigger picture.

“The approach will be the same as we have done in the last few years; the brand of cricket we played during the T20 World Cup, also in the last two or three bilateral series and what we played during the IPL.” – Suryakumar Yadav, confident in his hold on Mumbai Indians, lays another set of cards on the table.