South Africa on Thursday included batsman Khaya Zondo in their Test squad for the two-match series against Bangladesh but had to name a weak 15-man squad.
They will be without their frontline seam attack in the Indian Premier League starting March 26 with Marco Jensen, Lungi Ngidi, Enrique Nortje and Kagiso Rabada, along with batsmen Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen.
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This comes after an agreement between the players’ union and Cricket South Africa to allow players to compete in the IPL and other lucrative limited-overs events.
“The loss of IPL players is not ideal, but we support the CSA system, its ever-growing pipeline and above all, the players we have selected,” Viktor Mpitsang, coordinator of the selectors, said in a statement.
The 32-year-old Zondo has played six One Day Internationals for South Africa level but got his first Test call-up to provide cover in the middle order.
Keegan Pietersen, who was one of the heroes of the home series win over India at the start of the year, returned after missing the tour of New Zealand last month due to the COVID-19 infection.
The Test will be held from March 31 to April 4 at Kingsmead in Durban and from April 8-12 at St George’s Park in Gakebera, also known as Port Elizabeth.
Complete Squad: Dean Elgar (Captain), Temba Bavuma, Darin Dupavillon, Sarel Irvi, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Viaan Mulder, Duane Olivier, Keegan Peterson, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Cipmala, Glenton Stuurman, Kyle Verne, Lizad Williams, Khaya Zondo.
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