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Johannesburg - Five members of the Proteas squad for the ICC World Tenty20 (T20) tournament in the West Indies, are still doing duty in the Indian Premier League, and will fly directly to the West Indies from India.
Although the Mumbai Indians beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs in the first semi-final in Mumbai on Wednesday, all-rounder Jacques Kallis and fast bowler Dale Steyn are both needed to help the Challengers win their third placed play-off match and secure a berth in the Champions League later this year.
However, spin bowler Roelof van der Merwe and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, were considered surplus to the Challengers' requirements, and returned home early.
"The teams can only play four foreign players, and so Boucher and Van der Merwe were released before the start of the knock-out stages of the competition," explained Proteas media spokesperson Michael Owen-Smith.
Herschelle Gibbs (Deccan Chargers), JP Duminy (Mumbai Indians) and Albie Morkel (Chennai Super Kings) will all be in India until the end of the tournament.
Ryan McLaren will probably represent the Mumbai Indians in the final in Mumbai on Sunday, but he is not part of the South African T20 squad, and will fly home to South Africa after the match.
The remainder of the Proteas squad leave from OR Tambo International on Saturday evening. They have been able to revert to their itinerary of flying to the Caribbean via London, after the re- opening of European air space.
