Johannesburg: Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced Monday an updated schedule of India’s curtailed tour of the country. The CSA said that the first Test will be hosted at Centurion starting December 26. The CSA and the BCCI had announced Saturday that the tour will go ahead but the Indian team’s departure will be postponed by a week. The two boards also said T20Is will no longer be a part of the schedule in view of rising number of Covid-19 cases due to emergence of Omicron variant in South Africa.
The Indians were originally set to leave on December 9 but the travel plans have changed. It means that the Test series will now start December 26 instead of the previously finalised December 17.
“It is a pleasure for CSA to confirm the updated schedule for the India men’s tour to South Africa,” the CSA said in a statement. “As announced over the weekend, the tour has been reduced from three series to two; the Betway Test and One-Day International series, taking place from 26 December to 23 January 2022 across four venues, following successful engagement with the BCCI. The four-match KFC T20I series will be rescheduled for a more opportune time in the new year,” the CSA added.
The second Test will be played at the Wanderers here January 3-7 while the third match will be held at Newlands, Cape Town January 11-15.
The three ODIs will be played at Boland Park, Paarl (January 19 and 21) and Cape Town (January 23).
The Test series will form part of the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championships, while the ODI series will form part of the ICC World Cup Super League, the qualification tournament for the 2023 World Cup.
The schedule:
1st Test (December 26-30): Centurion
2nd Test (January 03-07): Johannesburg
3rd Test (January 11-15): Cape Town
1st ODI (January 19): Paarl
2nd ODI (January 21): Paarl
3rd ODI (January 23): Cape Town.
