India curtails tour of SA, T20Is to be played later; departure delayed by 1 week

The Indian cricket teams tour of South Africa will go ahead but the teams departure has been postponed by a week and T20 Internationals are no longer a part of the schedule the two boards announced on Saturday ending the speculation surrounding the series after a new COVID19 variant triggered anxietyThe four T20s will be played at a later date and Cricket South Africa said it will confirm the venues for the new schedule in the next 48 hoursThe Indians were originally set to leave on December 9 but the travel plans have changed which means that the Tests are unlikely to start on December 17 as planned earlierIndia are scheduled to play three Tests and three ODIs during the tourCSA and BCCI Secretary Jay Shahs statements came as the Indian Board officials met for an Annual General Meeting hereBCCI has confirmed to the CSA that the Indian team will travel for three Tests and three ODIs The remaining four T20Is will be played at a later date Shah said in a statementCricket South Africa appreciated BCCIs commitment to the seriesCricket South Africa can confirm that the India Tour will continue as originally scheduled with a few adjustment to the logistical arrangements such as the arrival time of the India Team the CSA said the tour is now confirmed and the arrival timings of the India team will be moved out by a week to allow for effective logistical planningCSA is pleased to announce that this tour will also take place under the strictest COVID19 guidelines it added in a statementCSA also made it clear the venues will be picked considering the safety of the playersCSA is also pleased to confirm that the allocation of match venues will still be in respect of the Bubble Safe Environment BSEs and therefore the decision on the allocations will take into account the need for safer playing environments it saidCSA has instituted these world class standards and measures to ensure that all players staff and officials are protected within this environmentCSAs main focus is to safeguard the cricket biosphere by managing strict entry standards and limited movement outside of its cordonSouth Africas discovery of the Omicron variant has caused much trepidation as cases have soared in the country The number of new cases in South Africa has zoomed from close to 200 a day in midNovember to over 16000 on Friday The Netherlands tour of the Rainbow Nation also had to be abandoned after the emergence of the new variant triggered panic all around the world with many countries imposing travel bans on the countryCSA also had to postpone its domestic fixtures after some of the players tested positive for the virus on arrival However the India A squad stayed on in South Africa raising hopes that the subsequent senior tour will go aheadIndia also did not ban flights from South Africa though it put the nation in the at risk categoryThe India tour not taking place would have caused massive financial damage to the CSAActing CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki thanked his BCCI counterparts for their support in these trying times I would like to thank both the leadership of Cricket South Africa as well as the leadership of the BCCI for working so tirelessly to make this tour a reality Even under the most uncertain times the Boards kept the light of hope alive and kept us anticipating that this tour will indeed take place For us as CSA it is always a meeting of old friends when the Proteas take on India but we will still present the fans with a compelling proposition and a great spectacle to watch said MosekiAlso Read Umpires booed at Wankhede after Kohlirsquos dismissalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for the dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the contents in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever