Kolkata: India are scheduled to tour South Africa early next year for a full-tour as confirmed by BCCI’s CEO Rahul Johri.
The South Africa series was initially under doubt given the fact that Sri Lanka are slated to tour India for a return series in the months of November and December, as a part of the ICC future tour program.
“The South Africa tour is on. There is some back and forth on dates, but it will be a full tour and that has been locked in,” said Johri.
India and Sri Lanka are set to face each other in a bilateral series for the second time in 2017 which would involve three tests, five ODI’s and a solitary T20I.
India are currently in the island nation and have completed an emphatic 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka in a one-sided Test series.
After this, they would compete against the same opponents in the limited overs’ format followed by a packed home schedule which would see teams like Australia and New Zealand travel to India for 50 and 20 over cricket.
Initially the Sri Lankan tour to India was scheduled to be held from the end of February next year going on till the first of week of April. But the Sri Lankan cricket board requested the BCCI to prepone the series as they had planned the Independence Cup during that time.
This made the Indian tour to South Africa uncertain as it was initially planned to take place at the end of this year.
Talking on the women’s IPL, he said that the required steps are being taken so that it can be put in place.
He said, “That (women’s IPL) is for the BCCI general body and the office bearers to decide. We will implement whatever their decision. Last year we did create a separate vertical for women’s cricket and we made Prof. Shetty in-charge for women’s cricket.”
“It was a part of our internal re-organisation and enhanced focus on women’s cricket, and the results are there for everyone to see,” he further added.
He also said that he is a link between the BCCI office bearers and the Committee of Administrators when asked as to how the CoA’s orders with regard to the Lodha recommendations are being followed by the BCCI.
“I was powerless to stop those SGMs. I do attend and will attend SGMs only if they want me to otherwise not,” he said.
He further added, “The office bearers and the board secretary run these things. My job is to facilitate what the COA asks and what the office bearers ask. At best, I am a link between the two.”