Team India’s South Africa tour is set to start from December 26 in Centurion. The team will play 3 Tests and many ODIs. Earlier, the tour was expected to start on December 17. However, considering the situation of Covid-19 in the hosting nation, the BCCI and CSA mutually agreed to postpone the T20I series.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has appreciated the move. Speaking in his latest YouTube video, he said India have got their priorities. He also speculated that team India might play a bilateral series with Australia ahead of the mega ICC event.
Butt said, “It’s about priority. Yes, it is true that it (2022) is the year of the World Cup but they will get to play plenty of cricket in the IPL. It is also possible that closer they reach Australia closer to the World Cup and play (a series) there. You never know because they have done it in the past and they can make such arrangements. There could be another reason but one thing is for sure that their priority is ODI and Test cricket."
Earlier, the former Pakistan captain said, “India prepare for it. If you see, India’s ‘A’ teams go to England, Australia. Even now, they were on the tour of South Africa,” in reply to a fan’s question.
Further, he said, “I’ll give you an example. A high proportion of Mohammed Siraj’s first-class matches came outside India, where he took part in four-day games. Other countries aren’t doing that. They aren’t sending their ‘A’ teams for four-day cricket like India. Earlier, you used to see Australia ‘A’ coming to Pakistan, or even Sri Lanka ‘A’ or South Africa ‘A’ used to come here."