I don’t know if those guys are going to be selected again - Dean Elgar on IPL-bound South African players

South African Test captain Dean Elgar took a pot shot at the players who chose the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the Test series against Bangladesh, stating that their team selection is not in his hands.

Several marquee Proteas players, including Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, and Aiden Markram, skipped the recently-concluded Test series against the Bangladeshis as it was clashing with their IPL commitments.

Before the series, Elgar had appealed to his players to choose nation duty over franchise cricket.

Obviously, that did not happen, and now the Proteas Test skipper has made it clear that the re-selection of those players is not a given.

"I don't know if those guys will be selected again; that's out of my hands," said Dean Elgar in a media interaction on Tuesday (April 12).

Head coach Mark Boucher echoed Elgar's statement as he said, "They did go to the IPL and vacate their spots."

That said, the absence of several first-choice players did not have any bearing on the series as the Elgar-led unit thumped Bangladesh in a ruthless manner in both games.

The 2-0 series win brought an end to a successful summer of Test cricket for South Africa, which saw them beat India (2-1) at home and draw with New Zealand (1-1) away.

When asked if the pressure of captaincy has begun to take a toll on Elgar, the southpaw said:

"If you're playing good cricket and the results are going your way, it's always going to ease the burden of captaincy. The last year has been extremely testing off the field, but I have an amazing core of players around me who understand me as a character and respect me as a player and a person. 

They understand the kind of cricket I want to play. Most of the senior guys have bought into it. We're in a very special place, which makes me feel a lot happier about what I'm doing," 

Elgar believes that he nailed down his style of play on the team. He also added that he enjoys the responsibility of leading the side at this stage of his career.

"Hopefully, I've nailed down a style of play that we can all follow going forward. I like challenges, which is why I'm still playing Test cricket at nearly 35. I feel I've got a lot of good years left, maybe even my best years. I'm really enjoying it. I might not have enjoyed it as much if I was younger," Elgar said.

South Africa have moved up to the second spot in the WTC table and will next face England in a three-match series this upcoming summer.