The South Africa-India series is deeply overshadowed by the IPL auction

It’s not often that a men’s T20I series is a dress rehearsal for the player auction of an all-franchise tournament, but the IPL is nothing mere. With the auction for next year’s tournament looming on November 24 and 25, some of those involved in the South Africa-India clash will be feeling the heat of the IPL spotlight.

A good performance in the four games – the first of which is at Kingsmead on Friday, the last of which is next Friday at Wanderers – could make some of them rich. Conversely, if they don’t live up to expectations, they could end up with no deal and therefore significantly less money in the bank.

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

Eleven of India’s 15 were retained. The exceptions are Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Avesh Khan, who have all made themselves available for purchase.

The full roster includes 1,574 players. There are 1,165 Indians and 409 foreigners from 16 countries. 91 of them are South Africans, more than from any other country except India.

Not that the 16 players from both teams who will be at the IPL auditions during the series will attract the attention of the franchise owners. Over the same eight days that South Africa and India play each other, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, the West Indies, England, Australia and the Netherlands will also be in action. This also applies to Pakistan, Oman, Indonesia and Myanmar, but none of their players are taking part in the auction.

The fact that the series pits this year’s T20 World Cup finalists against each other is deeply shadowed by the overarching IPL history. Therefore, any idea that the South Africans want to make amends for the seven-run defeat they suffered in this game is hopelessly naive.

It is also difficult to sketch a relevant narrative about the surface, considering that the next World Cup in this format will not take place until February and March 2026. If this narrative isn’t about money like the IPL, CSA will earn about $8.6-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 remains true, but in this case there is a twist. From this Friday to next Friday in South Africa it will be nothing more and nothing less than a game for 16 individuals who want to excel not for a team but for the signature of the owners of one of ten franchises on a paycheck.

But there’s actually another reason why the series is important. We have all heard that cricket is undergoing a revolution. This is a significant battle in the ongoing fight for a more realistic future.

For the first two games:

WhenDate: November 8th and 10th, 2024; 5:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. IST)

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

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

Team news:

South Africa:

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

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

India:

Ramandeep Singh and Vijaykumar Vyshak are in the Indian squad for the first time. Yash Dayal was in the Test squad but remains uncapped. Riyan Parag is out with what the BCCI describes as a “chronic right shoulder injury”. Shivam Dube and Mayank Yadav also have nursing issues, but they are not discussed in detail.

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

What they said:

“I don’t think it matters. But we all know that when it comes to things like an auction and especially a big tournament like the IPL, a lot of things can come together for the players. And we’re lucky that we’re doing that.” I’m playing a series against them pretty close to the auction.” – Aiden Markram plays an open hand about the overall picture of the series.

“The approach will be the same as in recent years; the kind 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.” – Mumbai Indians believer Suryakumar Yadav lays out a different set of cards on the table.