The India vs South Africa tour is all set to commence on December 26 with three Tests that will be part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle followed by three ODIs.
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The India vs South Africa series has had plenty of developments off the field in the build-up to the first Test on December 26. The tour was initially in doubt after new fears of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus emerged in South Africa. With the country placed on a list of ‘high-risk’ by the Government, there were concerns that the India vs South Africa series might not take place. After much deliberation, the dates of the South Africa vs India series were revised. Here are the full details of the tour so far.
The India vs South Africa series initially consisted of three Tests, three ODIs, and four Twenty20 Internationals. The series would begin on December 17 and end by January. But, the omicron variant forced the tour to be pushed back by nine days. Thus, the series will begin on December 26 and end by January 23. This meant that the four-match Twenty20 International series was postponed to a later date. The tour will now consist of only three Tests and three ODIs.
The three Tests will take place in Centurion, Johannesburg, and Cape Town. In addition to maintaining the bio-secure bubble, the ODIs will be played in Paarl and Cape Town. Paarl is about 40 km away from Cape Town and this might not compromise the bio-secure bubble. Here are the dates of the ODI series as well as the venue.
There was plenty of drama in the build-up to South Africa vs India series when it came to the captaincy of the Indian cricket team. Virat Kohli was called for a meeting with the BCCI and he was asked to relinquish the ODI captaincy to Rohit Sharma. Kohli had stepped down as the captain of the T20I team after the end of the ICC World T20. India had failed to reach the knock-out stages for the first time. In a communication mishap, it seemed that Kohli and the BCCI had a fall-out.
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The rumors continued to swirl that Virat Kohli had taken rest for the ODI series. This speculation increased rumors of a rift between Kohli and Rohit. But, Kohli stated in the presser before leaving that there were no issues with Rohit. Now, Rohit will miss the Test series due to a hamstring strain. Thus, Kohli will be the captain of the Indian cricket team in Tests while Rohit will do the needful in ODIs and T20Is.
With the withdrawal of Rohit Sharma for the Tests, Priyank Panchal has been drafted into the team. But, with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel unavailable due to injuries, the spin department will be handled entirely by Ravichandran Ashwin. The offspinner has been in prime form in the Tests and is on the cusp of going past Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 Test wickets. Recently, Ashwin went past Harbhajan Singh and became India’s most successful offspinner. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma as well as Mohammed Siraj will be the bowling attack for India.
At the same time, this series could represent the last chance for Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Both players have been under the pump and their returns in the last few years have diminished. Pujara and Rahane will have to score big if they have to secure their Test spots. India has not won a Test series in South Africa in 29 years of touring the country. A win this time will complete their mission of World Domination.
The official handle of the BCCI has been sharing practice pictures of the Indian cricket team in Centurion. In one photo, there is Rahul Dravid and R Ashwin engaged in an intense batter. The practice pictures give an indication of how desperate India wants to win the series in South Africa and complete the set.
On the other hand, the South African cricket team is struggling both on the field and off the field. Their three-match ODI series against the Netherlands was cut short due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. At the same time, there will be no fans in attendance for the games against India. This is a big blow for Cricket South Africa who is reeling financially. This is the second consecutive summer where no fans will be in attendance.
The series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan was also played behind closed doors. The game against the Netherlands allowed a capacity of 2000 but only 476 people attended. The last time a capacity crowd witnessed a game in South Africa was the ODI in Potchefstroom against Australia in March 2020. Since then, the pandemic has cast a big shadow on fans attending the games
After the series against India, South Africa will embark on tours to Australia, New Zealand while Bangladesh will visit the country. There are plans for a five-match Twenty20 International series with India in June 2022. The Proteas will head to England in 2022 while West Indies are also slated to tour the country in September-October. After that, South Africa will go to the World T20 in Australia. Here is the schedule till October 2022.
India tour of South Africa (Three Tests, three ODIs) December-January 2022
