India are scheduled to play South Africa in a five-T20I series just 10 days after the conclusion of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Ahead of the T20I series, big names including skipper Rohit Sharma, former skipper Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to be rested for the home series, as per a report by PTI.
The IPL final will be played on May 29 in Ahmedabad. The T20I series will commence on June 9 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. The other four T20Is will be played at different venues as well.
Earlier IPL 2022 kicked off 10 days after home series against Sri Lanka which included three T20Is and two Tests. India will tour England for the rescheduled Test, three T20Is and as many ODIs from July 1 to July 17. The limited-overs series against England will also serve as preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia in October.
It has also been reported that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will do away with bio-bubbles for the T20I series against South Africa.
"If all goes well and things remain in control like it is right now, there will be no bio-bubbles and hard quarantine during the home series against South Africa," a senior BCCI official told PTI.
"Then we are going to Ireland and England and there won't be any bio-bubble in those countries too. Some players have got periodic breaks but if you look at the bigger picture, living in bio-bubble one series after another and now two months of IPL is simply exhausting for the players," the source added.
The decision is likely to be taken right as there will be strict bio-bubble in place when India toured UK. Last time, there was a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp which led to the fifth and last Test getting postponed to next year.
