India’s two-day tour game ahead of their three-match Test series in South Africa has been cancelled, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on December 11. The Indians have instead, as per CSA, opted for training sessions on those days.
The CSA said in a release,
Please be advised that the two-day warm-up match for India at Eurolux Boland Park will no longer be taking place. India have opted for training sessions on those days
No official reason has been given for the cancellation of the warm-up game but the change in schedule would mean that India will head into the Test series — starting January 5 next year in Cape Town — without a practice match.
Meanwhile, in a first, young pacers Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Navdeep Saini and Basil Thampi will be travelling with the Indian team to South Africa as net bowlers, a top BCCI official told PTI.
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The idea is to help the visiting batsmen prepare well for the South African fast bowlers.
The timings for the day-night ODI matches have been changed too. All the games have been advanced by half an hour. Virat Kohli-led Team India will leave for South Africa on December 27 to play 3 Test matches, 6 One Day Internationals and 3 T20 Internationals.
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Here’re the revised timings:
TEST SERIES
|
Date |
Match/ Venue |
Timings |
|
Jan 5 – Jan 9 2018 |
1st TEST, Cape Town |
2:00 PM IST |
|
Jan 13 – Jan 17, 2018 |
2nd TEST, Centurion |
1: 30 PM IST |
|
Jan 24 – Jan 28, 2018 |
3rd TEST, Johannesburg |
1: 30 PM IST |
ODI SERIES
|
Date |
Match/ Venue |
Previous Timings |
Revised Timings |
|
February 1, 2018 |
1st ODI, Durban |
5 PM IST |
4: 30 PM IST |
|
February 4, 2018 |
2nd ODI, Centurion |
1:30 PM IST |
No Change |
|
February 7, 2018 |
3rd ODI, Cape Town |
5 PM IST |
4: 30 PM IST |
|
February 10, 2018 |
4th ODI, Johannesburg |
5 PM IST |
4: 30 PM IST |
|
February 13, 2018 |
5th ODI, Port Elizabeth |
5 PM IST |
4: 30 PM IST |
|
February 16, 2018 |
6th ODI, Centurion |
5 PM IST |
4: 30 PM IST |
T20I
|
Date |
Match/ Venue |
Timings |
|
February 18, 2018 |
1st T20, Johannesburg |
6 PM IST |
|
February 21, 2018 |
2nd T20, Centurion |
9.30 PM IST |
|
February 24, 2018 |
3rd T20, Cape Town |
9.30 PM IST |
Test Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.
(WITH PTI INPUTS)
