Miller reveals IPL side 'really upset' over CSA keeping Proteas home for crunch ODI series

Cricket South Africa (CSA) might not have the clout - politically, nor financially - to bully the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, but it can make them angry.

Proteas star David Miller on Monday quite candidly revealed that Gujarat Titans, his current team and defending IPL champions, weren't particularly pleased when informed that the dynamic left-hander would miss their opening match on 2 April because he is required for international duty.

It's in stark contrast to last year, when CSA gave the relevant national players the power to decide whether they would stay on to complete a Test series against Bangladesh (which was incidentally won 2-0 without them) or go to the tournament.

Twelve months later, the local governing body invoked the clause in its memorandum of understanding with the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) that allows CSA to keep national players for Proteas duty, specifically because South Africa need to beat the Netherlands in a two-match ODI series to qualify automatically for the 50-over World Cup in India later this year.

The newfound resistance has, apparently, not gone down well with IPL owners.

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"The Titans were really upset. It's always a big thing playing in Ahmedabad," said Miller, ahead of Tuesday's third and final ODI against the West Indies in Potchefstroom.

"We weren't given an option in any way (to decide between staying or going). Be that as it may, we've got our best squad on the park and we've got a lot of work to do in those two games, so it will be nice to be able to focus on that."

While admitting that he would have liked to compete in the new IPL season from the outset,