The Indian cricket team will tour South Africa but some changes have been made in the schedule, under which T20 International matches will not be played yet and the team's departure has also been postponed for a week. Both the boards made this announcement on Saturday, putting an end to the speculation about this tour after the arrival of a new variant of the corona virus.
The Indian team will now play three Tests and three ODIs and South Africa will announce the venues in the next 48 hours as per the new schedule. The team was also to play four T20 matches which will now be played at a later stage. The Indian team was earlier to leave on December 9, but now the itinerary has changed, which means that the first Test will not be held in Johannesburg from December 17 as per the original schedule.
The statement was made by BCCI secretary Jay Shah and the CSA after the officials of the Cricket Board of India met for the annual general body meeting. "The BCCI has confirmed to Cricket South Africa that the Indian team will go for three Tests and three ODIs," Shah said in a statement. Four T20 matches will be played later. CSA said, 'Cricket South Africa confirms that the tour of the Indian team will be as per the original schedule. Some changes have been made like the timing of the arrival of the Indian team. Now the Indian team will come week late.
It further said, 'This tour will be with strict corona protocol.' The new variant of the corona virus, Omicron, has originated from South Africa and its cases are increasing in the country. The Netherlands team had recently abandoned their tour midway. CSA also had to postpone its home matches as some players were found positive. The India A team, however, remained in South Africa, giving hope that the senior team's tour would not be cancelled. India has also not stopped flights from South Africa though it has been kept in the 'risk' category.