India’s tour of SA likely to be delayed
India’s cricket tour of South Africa faces at least a brief postponement as the cricket board makes an assessment of the major health concerns raised by the new Covid variant, Omicron, which was first detected in that country. Cricket South Africa has put off domestic fixtures after some players tested positive.
A number of countries have imposed travel restrictions to South Africa and other high-risk nations. India, who start the second Test against New Zealand here on Friday, were originally scheduled to fly out of Mumbai on December 8-9 on a chartered flight after all squad members assemble in a bio-bubble. However, with concerns of Omicron variant growing, BCCI is looking at the postponement.
India skipper Virat Kohli addressed concerns over the South Africa tour on Thursday. He said coach Rahul Dravid has initiated a discussion within the group and BCCI is seeking clarity. The sports ministry has already asked BCCI to take its clearance before the tour.
“We are not playing in normal times anyways, so there is a lot of planning that’s involved in terms of understanding exactly what’s going to go on. There are players who are not part of the group right now, who will be entering quarantine to join the team in the bubble, to fly in a charter, those kind of things, you want to seek clarity as soon as possible,” Kohli told the media ahead of the Wankhede Test.
The tour, which gets under way with the first Test in Johannesburg from December 17, is expected to be curtailed by either scrapping one of the three Tests or a couple of limited-overs matches. The original schedule comprised three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is, with the tour ending on January 26.
The India A squad’s South Africa tour is still on. The team is playing in the second four-day game against South Africa A in Bloemfontein. On Thursday, India reported two Omicron cases. State governments have tightened testing and quarantine for travellers from “At-Risk” countries, including South Africa. Even if India tour South Africa, they will need a bigger window to quarantine on return, ahead of the home series against West Indies in February.
Kohli said: “We have spoken to all the senior members of the squad, obviously Rahul bhai (Dravid) has initiated a conversation within the group. You want to be in a situation where you know exactly what’s going on and we have been talking to the board and we are pretty confident within you know a day or two or pretty soon will have absolute clarity. We need to be realistic about things as well, we cannot ignore the things that potentially could put you in a confusing place. No one wants to be there.”
On the England tour, the final Test was called off due to Covid-19 cases in the Indian camp.