The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to ask Cricket South Africa (CSA) to consider pushing back the upcoming tour by a week amidst the scare of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, which was discovered in South Africa.
India is scheduled to take on South Africa in 3 Tests, as many ODIs and 4 T20Is between December 17 and January 26. The squad is supposed to leave for South Africa on December 8 or 9 following the completion of the 2nd Test against New Zealand in Mumbai.
However, as per the India Today report, the Indian team is now likely to depart only on December 15 or 16. The BCCI will discuss the India tour of South Africa in its AGM on Saturday in Kolkata and a call is expected to be taken by Sunday.
The BCCI and the Indian players are ready to travel to South Africa for the series, provided that the COVId-19 situation doesn’t blow up in the rainbow nation. BCCI wants to wait and watch how the Omicron threat will develop over the next few days. The board is in constant touch with the Indian government and CSA over the fate of the South Africa tour.
Both the BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA) are keen on going ahead with the tour despite rising concerns over the new Covid variant. Notably, the board hasn't called back India A team that is currently playing 3 four-day unofficial Test matches against the hosts in Bloemfontein.
One more big concern for the BCCI is the possibility of hard quarantine of players on return from South Africa, considering the packed home calendar for the Indian team.
On the other hand, CSA and the South African government are hopeful that India will tour for the series and have assured of safety and security for the players amid the Omicron threat.
"South Africa will take all precautions necessary to ensure the health and safety of the Indian teams. A full Bio-secure environment will be established around both the South African and Indian 'A' Teams as well as the two National Teams," the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), which is the country's foreign ministry, said in a statement on Tuesday.
(India Today inputs)
