Graeme Smith Hopeful Of South Africa And India Playing One Another Often In The Upcoming Months
Published - 24 Feb 2021, 11:41 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:41 AM
Cricket South Africa hopes to have matches with India numerous times in the upcoming months in the next cycle of bilateral series. According to Cricket South Africa director and former national team’s skipper Graeme Smith, they are on the verge of signing off the agreements. India and South Africa last faced off in 2019 when the latter toured the sub-continent nation for three Tests and two T20Is.
India and South Africa were to play each other in India in March 2020; however, the Proteas had to return after one ODI in the three-match rubber. It was due to the countries worldwide going into lockdown owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, South Africa will host India for a four-match Test series in the 2021-22 summer.
Graeme Smith proclaimed that he and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly have had plenty of conversations and hailed India as being quite supportive. The former left-handed batsman hopes that India and South Africa will have numerous encounters in the upcoming months and are close to getting finalised.
“Myself and Sourav [Ganguly, the BCCI president] go a long way back and we’ve had a number of conversations. India have been very supportive of us. Hopefully, in the next cycle we will have a number of tours against India that are actually pretty close to being finalised,” Smith said as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.
You work with members to try and find the safest way to get cricket played: Graeme Smith
The 40-year old further stated that with every country facing challenges, every member must support each other and find ways to get it done as much as possible. Smith criticised Cricket Australia for calling off South Africa’s tour and that all members must have a collaborative mindset with all the stakeholders to make things happen.
“Each country is facing different challenges. It’s important that the members get together and support each other, and try and find ways to get as much done as we can. That added to the disappointment of Australia. So far, everyone we have worked with has had that mindset and understood that, and my sense is that Australia didn’t. That’s what let us down. You work with members to try and find the safest way to get cricket played. It’s become a collaborative approach with the medical teams and operations teams and how finances will work,” he added.
