Club vs Country, Rashid, Rassie and KG

In time, a decade at most, the majority of the world’s best cricketers will serve their Franchise teams first and foremost and will be released by them to play for their countries in certain, ICC-ratified events. Basically, World Cups and certain World Cup qualifiers. That’s the way it has been for years in football.

But until that day arrives, players are going to be forced to make more and more difficult decisions while national boards will have to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets to pay for the ‘loyalty’ of their stars. Because sporting loyalty is a valuable commodity and it costs money, whether it be for club or country. Professional sports careers are short.

Cricket South Africa have adopted a pragmatic approach to the impending decisions which need to be taken by Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen about whether to head to India for the start of the IPL or stay in South Africa to compete for World Cup Super League Qualifying points in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in March and World Test Championship points in that two-match series in April. They have left the decision up to them.

The CSA board has recognised the reality that the discord which already exists between them and the nationally contracted players can only be increased with an ‘instruction’ that they stay in the country and honour their contracts. And they don’t have the money to compensate them if they stay voluntarily and miss up to three weeks of the world’s richest tournament.

Test captain Dean Elgar wasn’t just tired and grumpy from the travel when he returned from New Zealand, he was exasperated with the situation. Just as many supporters will no doubt play the ‘national pride’ card, Elgar gave it his best shot: “It's a tough one leaving it up to the players, but this is how we'll see where their loyalty lies. They mustn't forget that Test and One-Day cricket got them into the IPL, not the other way around.

“I wish I knew more, just for my own personal sanity, so I can prepare, knowing that most of my bowlers are potentially not going to be there if they choose to go the IPL route. Hopefully by next week that will be clearer for us,” Elgar said. “I can't take the field without my best side. In order to give ourselves the best chance, I need my best players. You don't want players to miss out on a big occasion like the IPL but I'd still like to think playing for your country is bigger than that.”

As I said, he gave it his best shot.

It’s not just about money. Some IPL Franchises are reasonable and understanding about their overseas stars’ needs and commitments, but others are ruthless. There is little doubt that Rabada and the others will be reminded of the size of the financial investment their IPL teams have made in them, how important they are to their title aspirations – and how much they expect allegiance in return.

Having beaten India and shared the points with New Zealand, the two finalists in the inaugural World Test Championship, Elgar is understandably buzzing with possibilities for the second final in 2023. A full house of points against Bangladesh and victory in three Tests against England in August and September will put his team tantalisingly close to reaching the second Test Championship final.

“I can just make them aware of their position within our set up,” Elgar said. “It's up to me to go to each individual and point out that they mustn't forget where they've come from as players and where we've come as a group. For me it's about the bigger picture, it's about us playing as much Test cricket as possible. We're already playing so little Test cricket. We can't not have our best players around when the team is called upon to go out and perform.”

Quixotically, within hours of Elgar’s comments, the great Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan was quoted on the same subject:

“It's not about work or not work, national duty is national duty. Wherever I go and wherever I play, when there is national team (commitments), I have to be there,'' Rashid said.

“When my national team is on tour I have to be there and I have to be ready to play. It's not about if I'm effective or not, my presence will give the message to all the youngsters that there is no bigger thing than national duty. Whatever happens, you have to come to national duty. I am here because of my national team has taken me to this position. If the Afghanistan team was not there, I don't know where I would be, I don't know what I would have been doing,” Rashid said.

It is equally simple to admire his sentiments and to remember that he has already played almost 400 games of Franchise cricket in eight different leagues and, at the tender age of 23, has already amassed a small fortune. Only Rabada amongst the South Africans could compare. Jansen, for example, would be turning away around four times what he has been paid for two entire Test series by arriving three weeks late for the IPL.

Choices, choices. As hard as they may be, they are fortunate and privileged to have them. The least we could do is not judge them by standards which we would not apply to ourselves in a similar situation. Professional sportsmen and women are no different to school teachers, engineers and accountants when it comes to national loyalty over career and life prospects.