Now, in the first Tests South Africa are playing since the Bangladesh series, all six players (Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Marco Jansen), are back in the squad and Elgar has accepted them with open arms. “We were aware of the situation those players were put in. It was a very unfortunate situation that they had to go through and I don’t blame them for the decision they made. There was no air to be cleared,” Elgar said.
He is certain that all six players have been and will continue to be committed to South African cricket. “We’re pretty sure they want to be here.”, Elgar said. “I am pretty sure if you go back then, they would have loved to have been playing Test cricket for South Africa. They were put in a corner and they had to make a decision and as a group they made a decision. It wasn’t an individual decision, it was a group decision which I am totally happy about because I sat in more meetings than anyone. I am very happy to have them back.
“I didn’t have my potential best XI around at that time but we gave a lot of guys exposure to Test cricket and it was also an exercise we wanted to try and do knowing there might be a clash – to give the young guys opportunity and expose them to this level. But now, it’s good to have them back and they are more than welcome in the changeroom.”
“I hope if there is some sort of clash of events, there are some sort of things put in place between the two bodies of cricket. I would like to think there is something more concrete put around that just to give players more safety,” he said, alluding to the financial rewards for players in T20 leagues. A South African player, who earns in South African Rands, will earn many times more than their annual salary in one IPL season, not least because those amounts are paid in US Dollars.