What’s the story?
Cricket South Africa (CSA) have already released the complete schedule for their next home summer series against Bangladesh and Australia. However, the itinerary for the India series, which is slated to be sandwiched between the above mentioned tussles, has not been finalized yet.
CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat attributed BCCI’s internal turmoil as well as previous history as prime reasons for the delay in announcing the schedule. On a relevant note, Sri Lanka may not return to South Africa in the next season due to a combination of packed schedule and middling gate receipts.
Sri Lanka are currently in South Africa for a tour comprising of 3 Tests, 3 T20Is and 5 ODIs. They have lost the first couple of Tests by massive margins with both those matches not progressing till lunch on the final day.
In case you didn’t know...
According to the Future Tours Program (FTP), Sri Lanka are scheduled to tour South Africa this November for 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is. On the other hand, India are slated to host Pakistan for 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is in that same time period. However, due to the diplomatic stand-off between the two countries, the arch-rivals may not get to meet on the field.
Heart of the matter
Lorgat said, “I've given an indication to Sri Lanka that the (next) tour (in 2017/18) is unlikely. We've got a very packed season coming up, starting with Bangladesh in the early season. We've got India touring for 4 Test matches plus 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is, and then we follow with Australia for 4 Test matches. It's very unlikely and I've already given the indication to Sri Lanka that they should avail themselves to someone else.”
He elaborated, “About the tour schedule with India, I'm not reading anything untoward. They've got a difficult period that they're going through currently. You would have read the president (Anurag Thakur) has been removed and the secretary (Ajay Shirke) has been removed. They are in a state of turmoil. I've been assured by them that in the next few weeks, they will try and confirm that. But they've got a history of not confirming until a few months or a few weeks before."
What next?
With the proposed series against Pakistan looking rather unlikely to materialise anytime soon, India could confirm the schedule for the South Africa tour in the immediate future. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have the option of formulating series out of FTP with any of Pakistan, Bangladesh or Zimbabwe who should be the only teams available during that particular time period.
Sportskeeda’s Take
As a consequence of Supreme Court's knockout blow to top BCCI officials, the focus has naturally veered towards the side of internal administration. Although BCCI usually release final schedules close by to the start of a series, they did announce the 2016/17 home season venues (including the Bangladesh Test and the Australia series) quite early. Nevertheless, an airtight FTP, as well as, proactive announcement of schedules go a long way in helping travelling fans to start making plans.
Tweet Speak
Mr. Lorgat gives an update on the tour schedule against India. pic.twitter.com/7QOtL2XWui
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 5, 2017
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