India seek clarity on SA tour with Omicron spread

MUMBAI: India skipper Virat Kohli said Thursday his side were seeking clarity about the upcoming tour of South Africa, which is in doubt over the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.

Kohli returns for the second Test against New Zealand in Mumbai starting Friday after he stepped down as Twenty20 captain at the end of India’s World Cup campaign and took a short break.

New Zealand hung on to a draw in the opening Test of the two-match series.

India are expected to fly to South Africa for a full series including three Tests from December 17 but the highly infectious new Covid variant has put plans on hold.

“There are players who are not part of this group right now who will be entering quarantine to join the team,” Kohli told reporters a day out from the Mumbai Test.

“Those kinds of things you want to seek clarity as soon as possible.”

A tour by India is easily the biggest money-spinner for South African cricket and is believed to be worth hundreds of millions of rands.

On Tuesday the South African government had pledged to take all precautions necessary to keep players safe and praised the “solidarity” of India’s cricketers in choosing to continue with the tour.

But the Board of Control for Cricket in India has also said it will await a government nod on the Proteas tour before making a final decision.

Kohli insisted their focus is on the final Test while staying connected with the board over the Proteas trip.

“At the end of the day we understand, our focus from the Test match will not shift regardless,” he said.

“We have been talking to the board and we are pretty sure within a day or two we will have absolute clarity as to what is going on.

“We need to be realistic about things as well, we cannot just ignore the things that potentially could put you in a confusing place and no one wants to be there.