CSA announces schedule for India's tour of South Africa

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Friday announced the schedule for India's multi-format tour of South Africa which begins with the first Test on December 17. India will be playing three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is which will conclude on January 26, 2022.

In its official release, CSA also announced that the third Test of the Gandhi-Mandela Series has been been moved to the Newlands in Cape Town after initially scheduled to be played at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. All the three Tests will be part of the second World Test Championship cycle.

“CSA is excited to welcome India back to South Africa, which also significantly marks the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s first tour to India after re-entry into International Cricket in 1991. This tour affirms our unique relationship with the BCCI,” said Graeme Smith, CSA Director of Cricket.

“This tour comes at a fitting moment when Cricket South Africa, together with the people of the world celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 152nd birthday. We are indeed indebted to India for its support to our cricket efforts over the years. We are looking forward to hosting our guests for what promises to be nail-biting on-field encounters,” said Pholetsi Moseki, CSA Acting Chief Executive Officer.

India last played a three-format series in South Africa in 2017-18 where South Africa won the Test series 2-1 while India clinched the ODI series 5-1 and the T20I series by 2-1.

Recently, the BCCI announced the appointment of batting legend Rahul Dravid as the new head coach of the senior men's team who is set to take over from Ravi Shastri on November 17 starting with the series against New Zealand.

The Board is also yet to announce the successor to Virat Kohli, who will be stepping down as India's T20I captain after the T20 World Cup.

Schedule for India tour of South Africa:

Test Series

1st Test - December 17-21, Wanderers

2nd Test - December 26-30, Centurion

3rd Test - January 3-7, Cape Town

ODI Series

1st ODI - January 11, Paarl

2nd ODI - January 14, Cape Town

3rd ODI - January 16, Cape Town

T20I Series

1st T20I - January 19, Cape Town

2nd T20I - January 21, Cape Town 

3rd T20I - January 23, Paarl

4th T20I - January 26, Paarl