BCCI may curtail their South African tour yet again, later this year

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), yet again intend to cut short their South African tour later this year to accommodate a tri-series between New Zealand and Bangladesh. This is not the first time the board cut short a tour in South Africa.

Earlier in the 2013 tour of South Africa, India originally was scheduled to play four Test matches but citing bad blood between the two boards, India only played a couple of Test and three one-dayers. However, this time around, the Indian cricket board does not have the option to reduce any number of Test matches due to the iconic “Freedom Cup” stature received by the bilateral engagements when it comes to Test matches.

According to the Future Tours Programme (FTP), India is scheduled to play four Tests and seven one-day internationals starting in the second week of December. Under such circumstances, curtailing the ODI leg of the tour seems the only viable option for the Indians if they want to accommodate a tri-series featuring New Zealand and Bangladesh. 

CSA to reschedule itinerary

That said, as of now, Cricket South Africa may have to revise the itinerary and reduce the number of ODIs to five instead of seven and possibly a T20 match. It is learned that they had been in communication with BCCI, with a view to making the most of their summer, particularly at a time when they are hosting their inaugural Global T20 league.

“We want to have our own season before the team departs. The CSA, unlike the previous time, shouldn’t suffer because by then their T20 league will start, and we’ll arrive just at the business end of that tournament. There’s still five months left, and we can always make a change here and there, but this tour won’t be reduced. We’ve given the commitment, and that will not change. It’s just scheduling we want to work on,” said a reliable source close to the development according to the Indian Express.