International cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport but the franchise game is increasingly becoming the bread and butter for players of various levels.
The Proteas are by no means alone in having gaping holes in their schedule.
India, Australia and England are the teams that play the most high-profile international cricket though and they have few issues filling their dance card.
In the month of July, England are engaged in a Test series against the West Indies and India have undertaken a brief tour to Zimbabwe but in the aftermath of the T20 World Cup, there is little else on the go.
South Africa are in the midst of preparation for a tour to the West Indies to play two World Test Championship matches and a some white-ball matches.
However, quite a few of their players have signed up for deals in US cricket’s fairly new showpiece event Major League Cricket.
Proteas star Gerald Coetzee has even picked up an injury in his first match in MLC that might impact his availability for internationals.
MLC doesn’t clash with too many other franchise events, with England’s Vitality Blast drawing a limited number of overseas professionals and the Caribbean Premier League only getting underway at the end of August.
However, there is a cumulative impact that the rise of so many franchise tournaments has on the international game and this impact is being felt in South Africa.
Cricket South Africa has endured a tense relationship with player’s union SACA over the last few years and they probably don’t want to leave themselves open to being shown a bit of the old player power which has in the past caused great upheaval in the sport.
Franchise T20 tournaments now do not so much dot the calendar as block out the sun when it comes to space for international cricket to take place free from hindrance.
The West Indies have arguably been one of the nations hardest hit when it comes to franchise money trumping internationals with many players willing to put up with being axed from national team duty in order to fulfil their obligations to T20 sides.
South Africa’s own SA20 tournament has directly butted heads with international commitments already with internationals against Australia cancelled to avoid a clash with the first edition and the second edition causing the Proteas to send a weakened team to fulfil their World Test Championship fixtures against New Zealand.
The IPL remains the only tournament that has been able to almost entirely blackout international cricket with most nations wise to the scheduled window and for the most part avoiding arranging matches during April or May.