Question Mark Over India Tour Of South Africa After Spread Of New COVID-19 Variant In SA

South Africa has seen a big rise in the spread of the new COVID-19 variant and concerns have been raised over the India tour of South Africa 2021-22 which will begin next month and reports suggest that there might be some changes in the quarantine rules for players.

India are set to travel to South Africa for a nearly seven-week assignment which will begin on December 17. During the tour India will play three Test games, three One Day Internationals and four T20 Internationals across four venues – Johannesburg, Centurion, Paarl, and Cape Town. Notably, The rise in cases is in the northern part of the country and Johannesburg and Pretoria could become susceptible to the spread.

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Meanwhile, a senior BCCI official has told PTI that they will have a closer look at the situation and as of now India are set to leave for the tour on December 8 or 9.

“Look, till we get a detailed picture of the ground situation from Cricket South Africa (CSA), we will not be able to tell our next step. As per the current plan, the Indian team is supposed to leave either on December 8 or 9 just after the New Zealand series gets over in Mumbai,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on Friday.

With Cases Rising In South Africa And European Union Also Cancelling flights, We Need To Factor In These Aspects – BCCI Official

The BCCI official also told that with the increase in Covid-19 cases there is a possibility that players will have to complete the mandatory quarantine period.

“Initially, there was no provision for hard quarantine but obviously the players will remain in a bio-bubble. Now with cases rising in South Africa and European Union also cancelling flights temporarily, we need to factor in these aspects,” a senior BCCI source said.

Meanwhile, PTI got in touch with a member of the administrative staff who is currently in Bloemfontein with the India ‘A’ squad and it was revealed that they didn’t undergo any hard quarantine on entering the country.

“We didn’t undergo any hard quarantine on arrival over here since we came by charter flight and are staying in a bio-bubble. After the outbreak, a medical team from Cricket South Africa had a meeting with our representatives over here. We were told that there is nothing to worry about since the spike in cases is far away from Bloemfontein where we would be playing our next match too,” the official said over the phone.

The official also told that cases have not been found in Bloemfontein and they are safe. He said:

“We were told specifically that Bloemfontein is unaffected by the spike in COVID cases and also it’s happening in the northern part of the country.”

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