South Africa Mulling over Postponing Series against New Zealand to accommodate SA20 Season 2
Cricket South Africa (CSA) is considering postponing the home series against New Zealand scheduled to take place in the first week of February to make room for the second edition of SA20. According to the contract, the South African players are obliged to participate in the league over international matches as the franchises involved in the league have the first right over the players.
This is why the South African wants to push the home series against New Zealand to mid-February. Although the talks about the same are in their initial stages’ things might not be as simple as they look.
The Schedule
The SA20 is slotted to start from January 7 right after India’s tour of South Africa and the series against New Zealand is scheduled to begin in the first week of February which means there is a concise window for CSA to organize the second edition of the tournament.
In that case, CSA has only two options available either to field a second-string side against New Zealand or pushback the series to mid-February which is most likely to happen given the fact that New Zealand is among the top-ranked teams in the world and considering the fact the series will be a part of World Test Championship and as a team, you would not like to drop crucial WTC points in a home series fielding a second string side might not be an option that South Africa would like to take.
The Obstacle
However, New Zealand might disagree with the change in the schedule of the series as the Blackcaps also have to host Australia at home and that series might not be postponed as the Australian have to fly to India to take part in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Talking about the development CSA’s CEO Pholetsi Moseki said that we will have a better idea about the situation after the SA20 mini auction in September. The talks are in their initial stages at the moment but it is more or less confirmed that the series against New Zealand is set to be postponed as CSA is not willing to change the dates of its premier domestic competition
