Dubai: South Africa will not tour Pakistan to play the three Twenty20 Internationals in March, courtesy a congestion of fixtures.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was hopeful that South Africa will play in their country for the first time since 2007 as their last two home series were held in UAE in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
South Africa’s security delegation was due to tour Pakistan to assess the safety of their team during the oncoming Pakistan Super League (PSL).
There was a possibility that if the security delegation did not clear the team to tour Pakistan, the series may have even been held in the UAE.
However, in a surprise decision, Cricket South Africa said they needed to postpone the short tour with acting Chief Executive Jacques Faul saying that the postponement had nothing to do with security concerns.
The three-match T20 series between Pakistan and South Africa was to be held soon after the PSL to announce to the world that Pakistan is safe for all nations and not just Asians countries following the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh series which were held in Pakistan recently.
Cricket South Africa feels that the South African team will be tired after the England series as well as the three One-day Internationals in India, which will conclude on March 18.
It is also understood that the South African Players’ Association have raised an objection to the tour of Pakistan.
Informed sources say that many South African players will be playing in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) from March 28 and that they do not want to go to the IPL as a tired lot.
However, Faul said: “This has been done purely because of the heavy workload and international schedule our players are facing in the immediate future. I would also like to stress that security was not an issue in asking the PCB for this postponement.”
