By IANS,
Durban : South African Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince will stay back in India for the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the trio were left out of the Cape Cobras team for their domestic Twenty20 championship.
The South African players were asked by their board to finish their domestic engagements in the Standard Chartered Pro20 tournament after the sponsors raised a hue and cry about the unavailability of the star players. Cricket South Africa (CSA) said the players could take part in IPL once they finish the domestic duties.
Kallis and Boucher will play for Bangalore Royal Challengers while Prince will represent Mumbai Indians.
Shukri Conrad, the Cobras’ coach and convenor of selectors, left out the three players and included Graeme Smith and J.P. Duminy from the six nationally-contracted players.
A statement from the Cobras said that Kallis, Boucher and Prince were now “free to stay on in India to participate in the new IPL league if Cricket South Africa (CSA) gives them the go ahead.”
Andre Odendaal, the Cobras’ chief executive, said the national players were keen to play for the Cobras.
“We appreciate the fact that CSA went out of their way to ensure they were available and that they were all prepared to come back for the final two weeks of the Pro20, even at the risk of losing considerable income in India,” he said.