Team India is expected to announce a full-strength squad for the tour to South Africa, with World Test Championship points at stake. The tour is scheduled from December 2023 to January 2024 and comprises three T20 games, three ODIs, and two test matches.
The series includes a three-match T20I series that will serve as preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The Twenty Over games will be held at Durban, Gqeberha, and Johannesburg. The first two ODIs will be played in Johannesburg and Gqeberha, with the third at Paarl.
Virat Kohli has informed the Indian board that he will not be available for the white-ball phase of the tour, but will play the two-Test series starting December 26 in Centurion and Cape Town. The multi-format series begins on December 10 and includes the traditional Boxing Day Test in Centurion and the New Year’s Test in Cape Town.
The senior selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will select four teams for the South Africa tour, with India A, India T20I team, India ODI team, and Indian Test team being selected for the proteas tour.
The selection committee is likely to prioritize Test cricket and make a full-strength squad available. India’s final frontier is South Africa, where they have never won a Test series. Winning there will also increase their chances of reaching the World Test Championship final for the third time in a row, after making it to the marquee final for the 2021 and 2023 WTC finals.
The committee is aware of the workload on numerous players who have just returned from a rigorous and emotionally exhausting 50-over World Cup, so they are likely to ensure that no player appears in all formats.
The board is careful not to overuse the bowling attack, particularly the Indian team’s pace attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj, which is perhaps the best in the world. The selectors will also discuss whether Kohli should be granted a warm-up game before the Test matches because he will be returning after a more than a month hiatus.
Meanwhile, Ajit Agarkar, the selection committee chairman, met with head coach Rahul Dravid in Bengaluru to discuss the next steps. The BCCI has extended Dravid’s, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey’s, batting coach Vikram Rathour’s, and fielding coach T Dilip’s contracts on Wednesday.