Wessels undecided on continuing with IPL

Kepler Wessels, the coach of the Chennai Super Kings who helped guide the team to the final of the inaugural IPL, has said he has not yet decided on committing to another season with the franchise. Wessels said the stress and intensity of the 45-day tournament, during which his team played 16 Twenty20 matches across India, had prompted second thoughts about a second stint.

"They [the franchise] are satisfied with what we accomplished in the series but I have asked for a month's grace before I decide on the next tournament," Wessels told Rapport, an Afrikaans weekend paper. "The IPL was very stressful and I want to wait for the dust to settle before I commit myself to another series."

Wessels is in charge of the South African second-string team for the Emerging Players tournament in Australia in July, also featuring squads from India, Australia and New Zealand. South Africa, led by Ahmed Amla, have won the title the past two seasons.

Wessels will be up against three players he coached in the IPL - Parthiv Patel, Manpreet Gony and S Badrinath - and acknowledged the threat they would pose to his young side. Gony's call-up to the Indian one-day squad for the ongoing tri-series in Bangladesh was a direct fallout of his performance in the IPL, which he ended the fourth-highest wicket-taker.

"I am worried about the number of experienced players taking part from the other countries this year, as a lot of them have national or A team experience," Wessels said. "Cricket South Africa has decided to send a youthful team while three of the Indian players that played under me are already established players."

The tournament, which runs from July 14 to 26, will be held in different venues in Brisbane.

South African Emerging Players squad: Ahmed Amla (capt), Yusuf Abdullah, Werner Coetsee, Henry Davids, CJ de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Imraan Khan, Wayne Parnell, Daryn Smit, Blake Snijman, Thandi Tshabalala, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Vaughan van Jaarsveld.