India's tour of South Africa to get underway on January 3

Virat Kohli will look to conquer South Africa after having a great time in Asia

What's the story?

The postponement of the Indian team's proposed tour of South Africa drew a lot of criticism on social media as the fans were furious that the BCCI scheduled a series against Sri Lanka at home during the tentative dates for the tour.

If the reports are to be believed, India's tour of South Africa will go on in the proposed duration. It has been revealed that India will go to the rainbow nation for a full tour which includes four Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is.

Extra cover: Sri Lanka's tour of India pushed ahead; South Africa tour in doubt?

"Yes, the tour to South Africa is very much on. It will be a full-fledged series, involving four Tests, five ODIs and 3 T20Is," a BCCI office bearer told Times of India.

He also added that Virat Kohli and co. will be flying out to South Africa on December 28, just after Christmas and the likely start of the first Test will be January 3.

In case you didn't know...

India were supposed to tour South Africa for a full tour with Cricket South Africa (CSA) being particular about the Boxing Day Test that will start on December 26. There was uncertainty over the match as BCCI were reluctant to send a team.

Earlier this week, BCCI announced that Sri Lanka will tour India for three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is starting from November 15 to December 24, two days before the proposed start.

The details

The report also stated that the BCCI wanted to have two practice matches before the start of the Test series. But, with the Sri Lanka series finishing on December 24, it might not be possible to play two warm up matches.

However, there are chances that the Indian cricketers will get one warm up match before the Test series begins.

Once the South African tour gets over, India are set to play in the Independence Cup in Sri Lanka that starts on March 15 and involves Pakistan and South Africa and the hosts.

What's next?

After the end of the ongoing Sri Lankan tour, India will be playing 23 international matches from September 2017 to December 2017.

India will play five ODIs and T20Is against Australia before New Zealand tour India to take part in three ODIs and three T20Is.

India's home season will end with Sri Lanka's tour to India after the BCCI decided to help their South Asian rivals by hosting them after CSA rejected a proposal for a series.

Author's take

It has been over two years since India faced a stiff challenge outside Asia in Tests. India's real test will come when they tour countries like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England.

Keeping this in mind, the fans will be excited to see how this Indian team, easily the best the country had in the last decade, perform in conditions that are considered alien to the sub-continent teams.

It is also good to see the BCCI agreeing to play four Test matches in South Africa after playing just two matches each on their last two tours. Also, it won't be a surprise if BCCI gets the two practice matches they wanted as they have the option of playing a second-string side against Sri Lanka in the limited-overs series.