Club and country is possible if a window is created for the IPL 

Cricket boards will have to get pragmatic and ensure that no major international series are scheduled while the league is on

The question is framed incorrectly. When the choice is between country and club, moral dimensions cloud the issue. Patriotism enters the equation, and no one, least of all professional sportsmen, like to be called unpatriotic. ‘Club or country’ is a false choice, for put like that the answer is obvious. Especially for those otherwise unconnected with sport.

It is easy for those on the outside, with nothing at stake, to write or speak as if money didn’t matter and that no sportsman owed it to his family to give them a good standard of living or secure their futures.

With South Africa now allowing five of their players to participate in the IPL, placing it above the needs of their own series against Bangladesh, the choice is being presented as if there is no other.

Cricket South Africa made a pragmatic decision. It had an understanding with its players’ body (the South African Cricketers Association) that it would provide players the necessary No Objection Certificates (NOC) to play in the IPL. The governing body just does not have the kind of money to ensure their players’ financial security. There is too the matter of the 10% of the players’ IPL salaries that all boards receive.

Few cricket boards can afford to ignore the moolah from the IPL. You could argue that it might be unpatriotic of players to turn down the offers because that would affect the cricket in their own countries.

And so to the question of patriotism. I have always been uncomfortable about mixing sport and patriotism, even if pop psychologists point out that it is an outlet for passions that might otherwise have to be expended on the battlefield.

The singing of national anthems at medal ceremonies, the forced nationalism of a goal scored in international matches, the artificial emotions aroused by nation versus nation all create an image for sport that it struggles with.