Pakistan's tour of South Africa likely to be deferred to a later date

Pakistan's tour of South Africa, scheduled to take place later this year, is likely to get postponed due to the rescheduling of the Indian Premier League.

Graeme Smith, Director of Cricket for South Africa, recently stated that he does not expect the South African players to be available for any bilateral series until November. He also confirmed that South Africa's tour of West Indies has also been postponed to an indefinite starting date.

The Chief Executive at Cricket West Indies, Johnny Grave, said last week that they were looking for a window in September- before the IPL- to host South Africa. Graeme Smith has, however, clarified that the South African players will be occupied from the start of September:

“We are struggling to find the time with the Indian Premier League, when our players are likely to be needed from the beginning of September. In terms of when we will get back onto the field, we are probably looking at November onwards. And if all goes well, it will then be a very busy period for South African cricket, playing series at times when we don’t usually play. It will be a case of trying to cram in all the tours that have been missed.”

Pakistan are to feature in a white-ball tour in South Africa

As per the ICC Future Tours Programme, Pakistan were scheduled to feature in three ODIs and two T20Is in South Africa during October. This is now likely to be postponed to November. A Pakistan Cricket Board official added that a final decision regarding the scheduling of the tour will be reached by the end of the on-going month:

"The COVID-19 situation is pretty dire in South Africa as well. Hence, the limited-overs series against South Africa isn’t confirmed yet. We are talking to them on various issues and will arrive at a decision regarding the tour by the end of August."

Due to the novel coronavirus, South Africa's ODI series in India was cut short and their tour of Sri Lanka was also postponed.