IPL 2020 to dent Pakistan's schedule as October tour of South Africa gets postponed

Pakistan are scheduled to tour South Africa for three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20Is in October. However, the series is likely to be postponed to November because of the rescheduling of the IPL 2020. Recently, South Africa’s director of cricket Graeme Smith has said that South African team will not take part in any bilateral series till November. Graeme Smith had also confirmed that South Africa's tour of West Indies was indefinitely postponed.

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Pakistan's tour to South Africa likely to be postponed due to IPL 2020

A week ago, Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Executive Wasim Khan had abstained from confirming the South Africa tour. He said that the COVID-19 situation is pretty dire in South Africa which is why the limited-overs series against South Africa isn’t confirmed yet. Khan reckoned that they are talking to Cricket South Africa on various issues and will arrive at a decision regarding the tour by the end of August. Furthermore, Pakistan Cricket Board is also trying to schedule the PSL playoffs in November which were postponed earlier due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

On the other hand, Cricket South Africa has been in turmoil due to the pandemic. Their series against India in March was called off because of the proliferation of coronavirus in India. Moreover, South Africa's tour to Sri Lanka was also postponed and to make matters worse, the Proteas' tour to the West Indies has also been postponed.

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Graeme Smith reckoned the lack of cricket is a financial time bomb for the country, who have also lost their major sponsor in the last few months. He said that they are in a lot of trouble financially. Graeme Smith stated that they need to get their broadcast rights in, support from corporate sponsorship and get the right series in place.

Meanwhile, there is still a doubt about South African players participation in IPL 2020 because their borders are closed due to the pandemic. It would be interesting to see how the IPL 2020 franchises find a solution to bring the South African players on board.

When will IPL start?

Ever since the IPL 2020 was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans started wondering 'When will IPL start? To answer the 'When will IPL start' query, the IPL 2020 will start on September 19 and go on till November 10 which was announced in by the BCCI after the Government Council meeting on Sunday. The IPL dates haven't been announced yet. However, the IPL dates are soon expected to be announced after BCCI's meeting with the franchises.

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England vs Pakistan 2020

The England vs Pakistan 2020 Test series will begin on August 5 with the opening Test at Old Trafford. The England vs Pakistan 2020 Test series will see the teams competing in three Tests and as many T20Is. The England vs Pakistan 2020 T20I series will be played in Manchester from August 28.  England will also host Ireland in three ODIs from July 30 to August 4. Pakistan will be led in the T20I format by Babar Azam on the tour of England. However, prior to that, Babar Azam's batting prowess will hold the key for Pakistan to succeed in the England vs Pakistan 2020 Test series as well.

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IMAGE COURTESY: AP