New Year’s Test returns to Newlands as India tour South Africa

India will tour South Africa in December this year and January 2024 for a multi-format series, the two cricket boards announced on Friday.

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The tour will kick off with a three-match T20I series to be held in Durban (December 10), Gqeberha (December 12) and Johannesburg (December 14), according to the schedule released jointly by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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The T20 series will be followed by three ODIs and two Tests – known as the Freedom Series – for the Gandhi-Mandela Trophy.

The ODIs will be played in Johannesburg (December 17), Gqeberha (December 19) and Paarl (December 21).

The traditional Boxing Day Test match (December 26-30) will be held at Centurion and the New Year’s Test will be in Cape Town (January 3-7).

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“The Freedom Series is significant not just because it features two excellent Test teams, but also because it honours Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, two great leaders who shaped our respective nations, and the world around them,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a press statement.

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CSA chairperson Lawson Naidoo said he was looking forward to the arrival of the Indian team and their fans.

“This is an important tour for both teams and I am really pleased that we will have a full tour comprising all three formats of the game,” he said in the statement.

The last time India played a Test series in South Africa, in 2021-22, they lost 2-1 after which then-captain Virat Kohli stepped down from his post.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse