Reports: South Africa's limited-overs tour of India cancelled

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to cancel India’s T20I series against South Africa, which was earmarked as a build-up for the two teams for the ICC T20I World Cup scheduled in October in India.

The board has zeroed in on a tentative window for resuming the Indian Premier League’s 14^th edition, which was postponed indefinitely in the wake of the rising Covid-19 cases inside the bio-security environment. The BCCI had earlier admitted about suffering a loss to the tune of INR 2500 Crores in case the tournament is scrapped.

It is now learned that the BCCI will resume the league paused at game number 29 from September 18 or 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was the frontrunner as the venue ever since the league was cancelled.

The board believes that the three-week window will be sufficient for the remaining 31 games and a tournament as high-profile like IPL will be the best way for the team to prepare for the T20 World Cup instead of a bilateral series between Indian and South Africa.

No better World Cup preparation than playing IPL: BCCI Source

“The series can’t be held and in any case there can’t be any better preparation for the T20 World Cup than playing a high intensity tournament like IPL. Since the T20 World Cup will start within a week or 10 days after completion of the IPL, the SA series can only be held at a later date. “There is a chance that India might play extra games when they tour South Africa early next year,” the source said.

Furthermore, there are speculations around the shifting of the two-match Test series between India and New Zealand in November according to the dates of the end of the T20 World Cup.

While BCCI, as of now, will not give up its hosting rights and wait how the COVID-19 situation in India pans out, there are chances of teams refusing to travel to India for the multi-team tournament after what transpired in the IPL. Meanwhile, UAE remains to be a possible option for hosting the World Cup as well. An official confirmation in any of this regard is awaited.