Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided that team India will go to South Africa to play cricket. The statement from BCCI arrived when many countries are closing their doors due to the Covid-19 ‘Omicron’ variant which is emerged from South Africa.
According to a media report “the BCCI said that we are going to South Africa and that’s confirmed. The players will remain in a water-tight environment during the near seven-week tour,”
Indian cricketers will travel to South Africa later this month despite the threat of new COVID-19 mutant Omicron as the BCCI is convinced that the bio-bubble being created by the CSA will be safe and secure for the players. The Indian team might leave a bit late rather than the scheduled departure immediately after the home series against New Zealand. The matches are likely to be held behind closed doors but for Cricket South Africa, their financial health depends on the India team’s visit as multi-million dollar TV rights are at stake.
According to the sources “The team will enter the bubble shortly and travel by a charter flight. Even if there is a delay, it will be a bubble to bubble transfer and hence no hard quarantine will be required,”
However, the issue that BCCI will have to deal with is what happens to the squad on their return from South Africa. The Indian government has specific rules for passengers returning from the Rainbow Nation.
(_Vinayak)
