Team India to begin South Africa tour on December 16, bio-bubble for 44 days.
India tour of South Africa: Team India’s tour of South Africa for three Test matches and as many ODIs is slated to begin on 16th December, as the cricketers will board a charter flight for the Rainbow Nation.
Before heading to South Africa, the cricketers and Indian management has been asked to undergo a strict four days quarantine in Mumbai.
India and South Africa will begin the tour with a test series on December 26th followed by the three matches ODI series. Earlier, four T20Is were also part of the tour, but the schedule was later revised to ensure the player’s safety amid the new scare of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The tour will run for 44 days and the players will remain in strict isolated conditions until the tour end. Players playing test format will end their campaign eight days before the players who are part of both test and ODI squad.
The penetration of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the Southern part of Africa has led to several series deferments. The ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers were cancelled because of the scare of covid-19 in Zimbabwe.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently revealed India’s test squad for the tour of South Africa.
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Several players have been given chances to prove themselves. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, who have been sitting on the borderline have received additional life with this tour.
Moreover, Shreyas Iyer, Jayant Yadav and Mohammad Siraj have been awarded a test slot following their brilliant show in the recently concluded India vs New Zealand two matches TEst series.
In the major development, Rohit Sharma has been appointed team India’s new Test vice-captain along with the captain of ODI and T20I sides.
India’s Test Squad for the South Africa tour:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Rishabh Pant (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohd. Shami, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul, R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj.
Standby Players: Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
South Africa Test Squad:
Dean Elgar (captain), George Linde, Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Kagiso Rabada, Glenton Stuurman,Sarel Erwee, Beuran Hendricks, Keegan Petersen,Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (vice-captain), Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Kyle Verreynne,Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, Prenelan Subrayen, Sisanda Magala, Ryan Rickelton, Duanne Olivier.
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