JOHANNESBURG [South Africa]: Most South African star players including Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Aiden Markram will join their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) teams in India only on April 3, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

As per ESPNcricinfo, Cricket South Africa (CSA) informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it wants all of its big performers to be available for the two-match home ODI series against the Netherlands that gets underway in late March.

South Africa must defeat the Netherlands in the series in order to directly qualify for the 2023 World Cup, which will take place later this year in India, hence the CSA has taken this action.

The Netherlands this week unveiled a potent lineup for the ODIs in South Africa and the series in Zimbabwe. The South African teams are slated to play on March 31 and April 2 in Benoni and Johannesburg, respectively, in both of those ODI Super League series.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen), Delhi Capitals (Nortje, Lungi Ngidi), Mumbai Indians (Tristan Stubbs, possibly Dewald Brevis), defending champions Gujarat Titans (Miller), Lucknow Super Giants (Quinton de Kock), Punjab Kings (Rabada) have South Africa players in the side.

"The top eight teams in the ODI Super League automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup while the bottom five will have to play the World Cup Qualifiers along with five Associate teams. South Africa, currently at No. 9, are in a race along with West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland to book a direct World Cup entry.

"The BCCI understands the importance of the Netherlands series to us automatically qualifying for the 2023 World Cup," CSA's chief executive officer Pholetsi Moseki told ESPNcricinfo.

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