Xtra Time Web Desk: The concern surrounding the upcoming Indian cricket team’s tour to South Africa will come up for discussion in the Annual General Meeting scheduled to be held in Kolkata on Saturday, December 4. The matter can come up in the BCCI’s 24 point agenda point pertaining to “Update on Future Tours Programme”.
The emergence of Omicron, which is said to spread faster than the earlier Delta variant, in multiple countries including India has triggered widespread alarm all over the world.
The variant was detected and flagged to the world by South Africa and as things stand now, there have been multiple hospitalizations in the Gauteng province, where Johannesburg, the venue of the first two Tests beginning December 17, is located.
Team India is slated to leave for Johannesburg early on December 9 but as of now, there’s a lack of clarity on whether the tour is on, shelved, or curtailed. India is slated for a full tour comprising three Tests, three ODIs, and four T20Is.
Although the series is not part of the meeting’s official agenda, it can be brought up during the Future Tours Program discussion.
During their last tour to England in September, India, leading 2-1 going into the final Test in Old Trafford, could not field a side following a COVID outbreak inside the team bubble and the match had to be rescheduled to July 2022.
Taking that into account, the Board members would certainly deliberate long on the issue which has now emerged as the priority with less than a week left for the team’s departure.
Apart from this, the date of the IPL 2022 mega auction could be announced during the AGM.
Lucknow and Ahmedabad are the two new teams for IPL 2022 and they can now pick three target players ahead of the auction.
There could also be a discussion on the approval status of the CVC Capital Partners who courted controversy after buying the Ahmedabad franchise.
CVC Capital made the second largest bid of Rs 5600 crores to pip the Adani Group for the Ahmedabad franchise but they soon came under the Board scanner for their alleged links with betting companies.
The 24-point agenda in the AGM also includes the Indian team’s poor showing in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in the UAE, matters related to the National Cricket Academy, and renewal of selectors’ contracts among others.