Sourav Ganguly bullish about India’s tour of South Africa
Virat Kohli, Andile Phehlukwayo (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has said that India’s upcoming tour of South Africa is on for time being. The tour is under some serious threat after the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron in several parts of the African continent. India will play three Tests, three ODIs, and four T20Is on the tour starting from December 17.
The BCCI president said they are monitoring the situation and a call on postponing the tour will be taken in due course, adding that there is plenty of time to analyse the situation. He added that as of now, the tour is likely to go ahead. “The tour is on as things stand till now. We still have time to decide. The first Test is scheduled to begin on December 17. We will ponder about it,” Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event.
India will depart for South Africa on December 9 after completing their second Test match against New Zealand. Ganguly said players’ health and safety are paramount and BCCI will keep that in mind before taking a call. “Players’ security and health has always been BCCI’s first priority, we will do everything possible for this. We will see what happens in the days to come.”
Earlier, in a positive sign, the BCCI allowed its India A tour of South Africa to go ahead as per schedule. The news came as a short in the arm for South Africa after several sporting events, including the South Africa-Netherlands series, was called off due to the Omicron threat.
