BCCI has confirmed CSA that the Indian team will travel for three Tests and three ODIs. The remaining four T20Is will be played at a later date said Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah to a leading news agency.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has ended speculation regarding India’s tour of South Africa by announcing that India will tour the country for three Test matches and three ODI games amid the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Shah also announced that the four T20Is that were initially part of India’s multi-format tour to the rainbow nation have been postponed and will be played later.
According to the original schedule, the Indian team was set to fly to South Africa immediately after the completion of the Test series against New Zealand in Mumbai. Virat Kohli & Co were going to play the first Test from December 17 in Johannesburg.
However, it seems unlikely that the original dates will be followed with a new schedule for the series expected soon. The Indian cricket team’s departure to South Africa is likely to be delayed.
The series is set to be played in a strict bio-bubble like the ongoing unofficial Test series between India A and South Africa A which despite the uncertainty after South Africa announced the presence of the new variant in the country has gone ahead without any change to the schedule.
Indian captain Virat Kohli had asked for clarity on the situation from BCCI. In a pre-match conference before the Mumbai test, Kohli said, “We have spoken to all the senior members of the squad and Rahul bhai has started that conversation within the group.”