India to start their tour with Boxing Day Test

Series will form part of new cycle of the World Test Championship, ODIs to count towards the Super League

SA and India will start their three-match Test series on December 26 with a Boxing Day fixture in Pretoria, officials confirmed on Monday.

The second Test will be staged in Johannesburg from January 3-7, with the third in Cape Town from January 11-15 in a revised itinerary after India requested to arrive a week later than originally planned for the tour.

The teams will also contest a three-match ODI series from January 19-23, with the first two games played in Paarl and the third in Cape Town.

The Test series will form part of the new cycle of the World Test Championship, while the ODIs will count towards the Super League, the qualification tournament for the 2023 World Cup.

A revised schedule, which has done away with four Twenty20 Internationals that had originally been pencilled in, was agreed at the weekend after India had expressed reservations about touring due to the discovery of the Omicron Covid-19 variant in SA.

Meanwhile, India face a problem of plenty for their upcoming trip to SA, having

beaten New Zealand at home despite resting a number of regulars, but captain Virat Kohli says it is a “good headache to have”.

The hosts were without Kohli in the first of the two Tests, while batter Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were rested for both matches against New Zealand.

Despite the absences, India came close to victory in the opening match at Kanpur before thumping the world Test champions by 372 runs to win the series 1-0. The success of fringe players has left Kohli’s India in a good space as they head to SA in a week’s time.

“Those are discussions we are going to have now with the selectors,” Kohli told reporters. “It is a good headache to have. We have to have clarity with these things. Always good to know exactly what you want to do before heading to a series like SA.”

Batters Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer and spin-bowling all-rounders Axar Patel and Jayant Yadav grabbed their chance with both hands and have staked claims for selection for the trip.

Kohli said he was pleased by the hunger shown by the younger players to do well in the longest format.

“To play Test cricket you need passion and intent. Indian cricket is in safe hands when you have so many people who have that. People are hungry to play Tests well,” Kohli, 33, said.

“It’s nice to see youngsters want to feel what it is to play Tests. That’s how they understand why it’s called the toughest format, most respectful format.”

The only worry for India ahead of the SA Tests will be Ajinkya Rahane’s batting form, with pundits calling for the middle-order batter to be axed. Kohli said the team would back his deputy, who has not scored a fifty in his last six Test innings.

“I can’t judge his form. Noone can judge it. Only the individual knows what he’s going through,” Kohli said. “We need to back them in these moments, especially when they have done well in the past. We don’t react to criticisms or praise, whatever happens outside doesn’t affect us.