5 international cricket series to look forward to in 2015

3. South Africa’s tour of India (Oct-Dec 2015)

South Africa won’t be pushovers on Indian soil

India are all set to host South Africa later this year for a full series which would include 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is. Though the venues and dates have not been released yet, it has been confirmed that the series will take place between October-December 2015. If there is one team which has tasted success consistently away from home, it is South Arica – illustrated by the fact that they haven’t lost an away Test series since 2006. The last time they visited India was in 2010 when they drew the 2-match Test series 1-1 but lost the ODI series 2-1.

Possessing players of the ilk of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Dale Steyn, India will be foolish to expect anything less than a hard-fought contest once again.

India, however, have themselves been very consistent at home in the past few years and would be disappointed with anything less than a series win. It would also be the first major test for newly-appointed Test skipper Virat Kohli.

4. England’s tour of South Africa (Dec 2015-Feb 2016)

South Africa will be expected to cement their status as the best Test side in the world

England’s tour of South Africa, which is slated for December-January, will include four Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is, starting with the traditional Boxing Day Test at Kingsmead in Durban. The series would be a stern test for England as not only have they have been in patchy form lately, but they will be coming up against the No.1 ranked Test side in the world.

Considering that this will be South Africa’s first four-match Test series in six years at home, they will perhaps be as determined as ever to put on a show for their fans and illustrate why they occupy the top of the rankings.

Meanwhile, the fact that England won’t have the likes of Graeme Swann, Paul Collingwood and Kevin Petersen, who all did well the last time England were in South Africa (2009/10) when they drew in which the 4-match Test series 1-1 and won the ODI series 2-1, is only going to make their task harder.

5. India’s tour of UAE to play against Pakistan (Dec 2015-Jan 2016)

India and Pakistan haven’t seen much of each other recently

Although there has been no confirmation on the venues and exact dates for the series, there have been extensive discussions between the two concerned boards in recent weeks with the approval of the Indian government and the broadcasting rights being the only stumbling blocks in the series getting the go-ahead. However, these should only be minor obstacles with it hopefully only being a matter of time before the two nations resume their cricketing rivalry.

The series is expected to comprise of two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is. Bilateral cricketing ties between the two countries were brought to a halt after the ghastly Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 until Pakistan toured India in 2012-13 for three ODIs and two T20Is.

While tensions always exist when it comes to contests between India and Pakistan, one hopes from a neutral perspective that fans get to see some nail-biting contests and pave the way for further such matches in the coming years.