The eight limited-overs matches between South Africa and India which are expected to be held in March will be hosted in Thiruvananthapuram. The two teams are set to play 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is. The dates are yet to be finalized as there is no official statement from either of the boards. But what seems to be confirmed is that the two teams will play all the matches at the Sports Hub.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) officials and BCCI joint-secretary Jayesh George had a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wherein they requested permission to conduct the matches. Speaking to The Times of India, Sajan Varghese, KCA President, said, “The government has agreed to let us host the matches at the Sports Hub in a bio-secure environment. The Sports Hub has been used as a Covid first-line treatment center till now. We will now have to sanitize the whole venue and make other necessary arrangements. The pitches and the ground have been maintained well despite the Covid situation. So that won’t be a concern.”
Varghese said the whole contingent will be placed under strict quarantine.
“We will be needing nearly 100 rooms to accommodate the players, support staff, match officials, telecast crew, etc. for the duration of the tour. They are likely to be put up in one of the hotels in Kovalam.”
South Africa is fresh off a limited-overs series against Pakistan. They played 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is, at home, where they defeated Pakistan 3-0 in the one-day games and 2-1 in the Twenty20 format.
Indian women’s team will play against South Africa in White-Ball Series In Thiruvananthapuram at the Sports Hub.
Source: Times of India pic.twitter.com/SlaPMUSrT0
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The Indian team was scheduled to play a limited-overs series against Australia in January which unfortunately got canceled because of issues faced due to the pandemic. The Indians last played an international match way back on 8th March 2020 when they made it, unbeaten, to the finals of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup before they lost to Australia.
The last time the Indian women’s team played an ODI was way back in November 2019. They played a 3 match ODI series against the West Indies which formed a part of the 2017-20 ICC Women’s Championship. India won the series 2-1.
Apart from the Women’s T20 Challenge which was held in UAE in November, the Indian team has been out of action and has hardly played any competitive cricket.
Source – The Times of India
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