India’s tour of South Africa, which was initially scheduled to be starting on December 17, has been pushed to December 26 with only three Tests and three ODIs.
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The omicron variant of the coronavirus pandemic has put South Africa cricket in a fix. The new variant, which was detected in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe has already wrecked the sporting calendar there. The ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers were canceled after an outbreak of coronavirus in some teams. South Africa’s two ODIs against the Netherlands were also postponed along with some Division 2 league games. The omicron variant had posed massive headaches for South Africa, with doubts lingering over the tour of India in December.
However, in the Annual General Meeting on December 4 in Kolkata, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa have reached an agreement. India will tour South Africa for only three Tests and three ODIs. The four Twenty20 Internationals, which were also scheduled in this particular leg, have been postponed to some other date. The series, which was supposed to begin on December 17, will now be played on December 26.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, the India vs South Africa matches will be held in Centurion, Johannesburg, Durban, and Paarl. These were the initial venues chosen and there apparently might be no change in that. Cricket South Africa is expected to announce a revised itinerary in the next 48 hours or less.
The Indian squad has not yet been chosen for the South Africa tour. That increased doubts about whether the tour will go ahead. India has pushed back the resumption of international flights to December 15. South Africa, along with several other South African nations, has been placed in the ‘High risk’ category.
The Cricbuzz report also stated that since South Africa has limitations because of the biosecure environment, the venues will be limited.
In a statement released by Cricket South Africa, it stated, “CSA is also pleased to confirm that the allocation of match venues will still be in respect of the Bubble Safe Environment (BSEs). Therefore the decision on the allocations will take into account the need for safer playing environments. CSA has instituted these world-class standards. These measures to ensure that all players, staff, and officials are protected within this environment. CSA’s main focus is to safeguard the cricket biosphere. This will be managing strict entry standards and limited movement outside of its cordon. CSA will confirm the venues in the next 48 hours,” it read.
Skipper Virat Kohli had also wanted clarity on the situation regarding the tour to South Africa. “We are not playing in normal times anyway. So there is a lot of planning involved, there is a lot of preparation that is involved in terms of understanding exactly what’s going to go on. There are players who are not part of the group right now, who will be entering quarantine to join the team in the bubble, to fly in a charter, those kinds of things, you want to seek clarity as soon as possible,” Kohli had said before the start of the Test against New Zealand in Mumbai.
India has never won a Test series in South Africa and they will be determined to ensure that they break the jinx this time around.
