Virat Kohli: ‘Absolute clarity’ on South Africa tour ‘within a day or two or pretty soon’

As of now, India are scheduled to start their Test series in South Africa on December 17

However, the situation in South Africa is dynamic with the new variant of Covid-19, Omicron, bringing a surge in daily positive cases and hospitalisations, especially in the Gauteng province of South Africa where India are scheduled to play the first two of the three Tests before moving south to Cape Town.

“Look, it is pretty natural [for them to wonder and worry and talk about whether the tour will go ahead and what the protocols will be],” Kohli said. “We are not playing in normal times anyway. So there is a lot of planning that is involved, a lot of preparation that is involved in terms of understanding exactly what is going to go on. There are players who are not part of the group right now who will be entering quarantine to join the team bubble to fly in a charter.

“Those kinds of things you want to seek clarity as soon as possible. So we have spoken to all the senior members of the squad. Obviously, Rahul bhai [Dravid, the coach] has initiated a conversation within the group, which is very important.

“Our focus from the Test match will not shift regardless, but also you want to have clarity and you want to be in a situation where you know exactly what is going on. We have been talking to the board, and we are pretty confident that within a day or two or pretty soon we will have absolute clarity as to what is going on.

“We have to be realistic as well. We cannot just ignore the things that potentially could put you in a confusing place. And no one wants to be there. I am sure everyone is working hard towards finding clarity and giving us the situation as it unfolds as soon as possible. We all are hopeful that that will happen soon. Our prime focus right now is the second Test, and the other things are simultaneously being taken care of.”

CSA nervously awaits India’s decision because losing out on an India tour could really set them back financially. There were reports that India might have asked for the tour to be pushed back by a week so that they can monitor Omicron a little more and then make a decision, but CSA denied any such conversation had happened. “There hasn’t been such request or discussion with the BCCI, hence it is purely speculation unless or until they engage us on this,” CSA’s acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “So as of now, CSA is not aware of this.”