It is learnt that the BCCI has put the selection for India’s tour of South Africa on hold as they wait for a green signal from the Indian government.
India senior men’s tour of South Africa could be delayed by a week as the situation around Covid-19 in the country remains uncertain. As per a report by the news agency ANI, both the cricket boards are in constant talks and a decision will be taken keeping the players’ safety as priority.
The selection committee meeting was supposed to be held after the Kanpur Test while the players, who have been rested from the home series against New Zealand, were expected to go eight-day quarantine before flying out. However, no communication has been made with the players yet.
India are scheduled to face South Africa in three Tests, three ODIs and four T20 internationals, with the tour starting from December 17. But the newly found Covid-19 variant Omicron has sent alerts in not only South Africa but in the world. Several countries have already put restrictions on travellers from South Africa.
Earlier, Anurag Thakur, India’s minister of sports and youth affairs, had suggested that the BCCI should consult the government before sending the cricket team to South Africa.
The BCCI president, on Tuesday, had stated that the tour will go ahead as scheduled as the boards are monitoring the situation in SA.
“The tour is on as things stand till now. We still have time to decide. The first Test is scheduled from December 17. We will ponder about it. Players’ security and health remains BCCI’s first priority, we will do everything possible for this. We will see what happens in the days to come,”
Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI.
Indian Test skipper, speaking ahead of the Mumbai Test against New Zealand, said the players are expecting to receive complete clarity on the situation soon.
“We have been talking to the board, and we are pretty confident that within a day or two or pretty soon we will have absolute clarity as to what is going on,”
Virat Kohli stated.
