Thakur wants BCCI to take permission on South Africa tour

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday opened up on the upcoming India tour of South Africa amid the discovery of a new variant of the Covid-19 virus in the Proteas country. The discovery of a new variant of the Covid-19 virus in South Africa has become the reason behind many teams cancelling their tours or series in the country.

With British Government announcing that the country has been blacklisted, India's upcoming tour of South Africa is the latest series to come under concern. Speaking to ANI, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur stated that BCCI or any other board should seek permission from the Government of India before giving a green signal to India tour of South Africa.

India is slated to tour South Africa for a three-match Test series followed by a three-match ODI series and a four-match T20I series. Earlier, a BCCI official was quoted by the PTI, who had stated that there are no decisions have been taken yet as the Indian cricket board is awaiting for the Cricket South Africa (CSA) to provide a detailed picture of the COVID scenario of the country. "Look, till we get a detailed picture of the ground situation from Cricket South Africa (CSA), we will not be able to tell our next step.

As per the current plan, the Indian team is supposed to leave either on December 8 or 9 just after the New Zealand series gets over in Mumbai," the official said.The India vs South Africa will kickstart with three matches Test series from December 17 in Johannesburg. The second Test starts on December 26 in Centurion, and the third Test will take place in Cape Town from January 6. South Africa has detected a new variant B.1.1.529 in multiple samples in Gauteng.

The country's health department has stated that the new variant has a "high number of mutations'' which the authorities point out are "concerning for predicted immune evasion and transmissibility." The South African authorities have stated that the testing labs in Gauteng have found a rapid increase in detection of the variant in other provinces of the country as well. TIll November 26, South Africa reported 77 Coronavirus cases of the new variant.