By Kavita Mistry 
South African cricketers will only be part of the IPL 2025 for a short time. They will miss the playoff matches due to the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final. Cricket South Africa has said that all its players will return home by May 25. The board wants its players to rest and prepare for the WTC final against Australia.
Because of this, South African, Australian, and English players will miss the IPL playoffs. This is bad news for their teams, as they will lose some key players during the most important stage.
The BCCI had asked Cricket South Africa to allow the players to stay longer for the IPL, but the request was denied. South Africa’s head coach, Shukri Conrad, said there was already an agreement that South African players would leave India on May 26.
Some South African players who will leave early for the WTC final include:
Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans)
Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings)
Aiden Markram (Lucknow SuperGiants)
Corbin Bosch (Mumbai Indians)
Ryan Rickelton (Mumbai Indians)
Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Lungi Ngidi (RCB)
Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals)
These players are part of South Africa’s WTC final squad. Their absence may affect their IPL teams’ performance. However, players like David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, who are not part of the Test squad, will be available for the entire IPL season.
The WTC final will be played from June 11 to 15, with June 16 as a reserve day. South African captain Temba Bavuma announced the 15-member squad in a video on May 13.
Also, the revised IPL schedule was released on the same day. According to the new plan, RCB will play against KKR on May 17 in Bengaluru. The IPL playoffs will start on May 29, and the final will be held on June 3.