The World Cup is dead. Long live the IPL ...

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Cape Town

CRICKETMINDED South Africans still recovering from suspending their disbelief for six weeks may find themselves doing something similar for another six weeks.

“The World Cup is dead; long live the Indian Premier League (IPL),” they will cry.

Seventeen of SA’s finest players are spread across all eight of the franchises in the 2015 IPL, which begins with a bang in the form of a clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. The same venue will be the scene of much flash and crash - and a little cricket - in the final on May 24.

Ten members of SA’s World Cup squad will be involved. They include marquee players like AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, all of them no strangers to the bells and whistles of the IPL.

On Monday Steyn gave the world a glimpse of the madness that is about to be unleashed when he posted a photograph on social media that had him smiling super coolly at the camera from behind a swept back fringe and a pair of sunglasses.

In the background a camera crew hovered vulturistically, eager to record Steyn’s every scripted and unscripted move.

Steyn’s caption read simply: “Hello India!”

But it is beyond the obvious that this year’s tournament gets interesting.

Given the current awkwardness of race relations in cricket in the wake of Times Media reporting that Cricket SA’s board insisted on racial grounds on the inclusion of the possibly injured, out-of-form Vernon Philander ahead of the in-from Kyle Abbott for the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, it is pertinent that all five of SA’s World Cup players who have not been picked up by IPL franchises are of colour.

Of them, Hashim Amla, Wayne Parnell and Farhaan Behardien went unsold at the player auction. The services of Philander and Aaron Phangiso were not up for sale.

Abbott will doubtless have a point to prove in his first visit to the tournament, while South Africans who want to keep tabs on the country’s fast bowling depth will watch with interest how Marchant de Lange, Chris Morris, Rusty Theron, David Wiese and Beuran Hendricks get along.

There’s a also a spinners’ duel of sorts in the offing, what with Imran Tahir and Johan Botha both set to twirl the day/night away.

South Africans in need of an IPL team to support need look no further than Delhi Daredevils. Not only do they have more Saffers on their books than any other side in the mix - Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Tahir and albie Morkel - they will also be captained by Duminy and coached by Gary Kirsten.

Rajasthan Royals are the only other team who have entrusted a South African with the head coach’s job - former SA fitness coach and team director Paddy Upton.

SA players in the 2015 IPL:

Delhi Daredevils - JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Imran Tahir, Albie Morkel.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - AB de Villiers, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese.

Rajasthan Royals - Chris Morris, Rusty Theron.

Chennai Super Kings - Faf du Plessis, Kyle Abbott.

Kings XI Punjab - Beuran Hendricks, David Miller.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Morne Morkel, Johan Botha.

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Dale Steyn.

Mumbai Indians - Marchant de Lange.