South Africa postpone T20 tour of Pakistan due to heavy schedule

JOHANNESBURG: Fixture congestion rather than security concerns was behind South Africa's decision to postpone a short tour of Pakistan, Cricket South Africa acting chief executive Jacques Faul said on Friday.

CSA and the Pakistan Cricket Board agreed to postpone a planned series of three Twenty20 internationals which had been planned for Islamabad in March, immediately after the end of the Pakistan Super League, which ends on March 22.

While the PSL reaches its conclusion South Africa will be playing three one-day internationals in India, which ends on March 18.

Several of the likely South African team are then committed to the Indian Premier League, which starts on March 28.

The Pakistan tour would have had to be squeezed in between these events.

"This has been done purely because of the heavy workload and international schedule our players are facing in the immediate future," said Faul.

"I have assured my counterpart at the PCB, Wasim Khan, that the tour remains very much on our international schedule."

"I would also like to stress that security was not an issue in asking the PCB for this postponement," Faul added.

The tour of India will complete a busy international programme for South Africa, which started with four Tests against England.

The England tour ends with the third T20 international in Centurion on Sunday and will be followed immediately by three T20 internationals and three one-day internationals against Australia, ending on March 7.

The first one-day game in India is on March 12.