Bad News For MI, RCB As South Africa Name Key IPL Players In WTC Final Squad

South Africa have announced their squad for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023-35 against Australia next month and it comes as bad news for several Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, including Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), as key names could miss the playoffs due to the mega event.

Ryan Rickelton (MI), Corbin Bosch (MI), Lungi Ngidi (RCB), Tristan Stubbs (DC), Marco Jansen (PBKS), Aiden Markram (LSG), Kagiso Rabada (GT) and Wiaan Mulder (SRH) have all been named in South Africa’s WTC Final squad and it means that these players might be unavailable for the playoffs should their respective sides make it to the next round. 

The IPL playoffs begin on May 29 and the WTC Final is on June 11, but South Africa are scheduled to play a four-day warm-up encounter with Zimbabwe from June 3 to June 6 as preparation for the grand finale. 

Considering this is up there as the most important game in the history of South African cricket, there is a high possibility that Cricket South Africa (CSA) might demand the players to return post the conclusion of the group stages. 

READ: IPL 2025: Which Franchise Will Be Most Affected By Player Unavailability?

Earlier today, Australia also announced the squad for the WTC Final, marking the return of Cameron Green.

South Africa squad for WTC Final

Temba Bavuma ©, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Kyle Verreynne, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson

Australia squad for WTC Final

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster