The three T20Is will help both teams prepare for the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, which will be played in Sri Lanka in February. The new schedule will mean India spend an extra week in South Africa.
The revised fixture list also means that the Test match, which will still be played in Gqeberha, will no longer clash with the South Africa Men’s Test against England. The three ODIs, which form part of the Women’s Championship that determines qualification for the 2029 ODI World Cup, will be played in Paarl, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, which gives Boland Park a fixture it was not originally scheduled to have. The T20Is, which have been added to the fixture list, will take place in Benoni and Potchefstroom. The matches will be played during the festive season on December 26, 29 and 30.
India were in South Africa as recently as March-April this year for a T20I series that they lost 4-1. They then played each other at the T20 World Cup in England, where South Africa beat India to severely hurt their chances of semi-finals contention, and the rivalry between the two teams continues to grow.
“We are delighted to confirm the revised schedule for India’s tour of South Africa, with the addition of the T20 International series over the festive period, ensuring our Proteas Women have the best possible preparation ahead of the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka early next year,” Pholetsi Moseki, the CSA CEO, said in a statement. “India remain one of the strongest teams in world cricket, and the opportunity to compete against them across all three formats will provide invaluable competition as we continue building towards another major ICC event.”
South Africa’s teams have a packed home summer, which includes ten Tests (eight men’s and two women’s) and incoming tours from Australia men, Bangladesh men, England men, India women and Australia women. There is ongoing discussion that the dates of Australia women’s series, currently scheduled between March 18 and April 14, could also be tweaked given the Champions Trophy dates and Australia’s home summer. Details are yet to be confirmed.
