Shahid Afridi Picture Credit: Twitter
Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi is "surprised" and "sad" to see Cricket South Africa (CSA) allowing its players to travel to India for IPL in the middle of an international series against Pakistan. He also outlined the need to rethink the priorities after raising his concerns about T20 Leagues like the IPL influencing international cricket.
South Africa played series-decider without Rabada, de Kock, Nortje, Miller and Ngidi
The comment from the 44-year-old comes after Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1 against hosts South Africa on Wednesday. However, Proteas stars like Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Lungi Ngidi had already left to play in the IPL after the second ODI which saw South Africa register a 17-run win.
Meanwhile, the two teams are also set to compete in a four-match T20I series commencing from April 10.
"Surprising to see @OfficialCSA allowing players to travel for IPL in the middle of a series. It is sad to see T20 leagues influencing international cricket. Some rethinking needs to be done!!," Shahid Afridi tweeted after he had congratulated the Men in Green on their win. "
Here is the tweet:
Surprising to see @OfficialCSA allowing players to travel for IPL in the middle of a series. It is sad to see T20 leagues influencing international cricket. Some rethinking needs to be done!! https://t.co/5McUzFuo8R
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) April 7, 2021
IPL players join their respective franchises
With IPL 2021 set to commence from April 9, South African cricketers Rabada, Nortje and De Kock have already joined their respective franchises. However, some of them are unlikely to feature in their side's respective opening fixtures owing to the mandatory 7-day quarantine that they are currently undergoing.