Cape Town, November 30, : South Africa has assured the Indian government (BCCI), that the Indian cricket teams visiting South Africa would be provided with the best “bio-secure” environment to protect them from the fast-growing Omicron variant of Covid-19. Omicron variant was first reported to have been detected in South Africa.
Several countries are closing their airports and suspending flights to the country to slow down the spread of this variant.The Omicron variant is more contagious and has been designated a “Variant Of Concern”.
The India ‘A” team is currently in Bloemfontein, where they are playing the second unofficial test against South Africa.It began on Tuesday.
The final Test will begin on December 6.
After the second Test against New Zealand, India’s senior team will fly to South Africa.The side will begin their long and exhausting tour in Johannesburg on December 17th, followed by the Centurion Test and Cape Town Tests.India will play four T20Is and three ODIs in the three-Test series.The tour will end on January 26.
The South African International Relations and Cooperation Department issued a statement late Monday night (IST) saying that the South African Government wanted to welcome the Indian A’ Cricket Team, which is currently in South Africa to play three informal Test matches against the South African “A” Team.
“The Indian National Cricket Team will also be visiting South Africa, and will play three matches during their tour.The Wanderers will host the first match, which will take place on 17 December.
It will be followed by the Supersport Park match on 26 December 2021, and the Newlands match on 3 January 2022.
The statement said that the South African team will also be playing three One Day International games, (ODIs), and four T20 matches.
All of these will be played at Newlands or Paarl.
“South Africa will take all precautions to ensure the safety and health of the Indian teams.
Both the South African and Indian “A” Teams, as well as the two National Teams, will be in a Bio-secure environment.The 30th anniversary of South Africa’s return to international cricket will be marked by the Indian National Team’s tour.
After South Africa’s 1970 ban from international cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) resolved that India was the first country to host a South African Cricket Team.
“A commemorative event will be held in Cape Town on 2 January 2022 to celebrate the anniversary.The statement said that the event would also highlight the strong ties between South Africa, India, and be highlighted by the tour of the Indian teams.”
After the identification of the new Covid variant, the Netherlands cricket team will return home to the Netherlands after the first ODI of the three match series.
“India’s decision not to cancel the tour of the Indian A Team stands in stark contrast to a number countries that have closed their borders and restricted travel from South Africa after South Africa announced it had detected the Omicron variant.”The South African Government expressed its gratitude to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, (BCCI), for allowing the tour and for not letting travel restrictions negatively affect international sports,” the statement stated.
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