Picture Credit: Cricket Australia
Cricket South Africa have announced that they will be touring West Indies in June for an exciting series in the Caribbean. They will be playing 2 Test matches and 5 T20 Internationals at venues which are yet to be finalised. The SA team will then directly travel to Ireland for a bilateral series (ODIs and T20Is) which will take place from July 1 to July 25. They are then expected to tour Sri Lanka and India before the all-important T20 World Cup in October.
Few star players could return for T20Is
CSA Team Director Graeme Smith hinted at the possibility of few of South Africa's best T20 players returning to the national side ahead of the World Cup. The 40-year-old admitted that free-agents like Chris Morris and Imran Tahir, who do not have a national contract, would be always available for selection especially with the amount of experience they have in this format.
Smith said, "We have seen the success the West Indies has had in bringing back free agents. But there are many factors involved, including team dynamics. Our focus has always been on trying to get our best squad together for an extensive time."
Will AB de Villiers also return?
There have been lot of speculations around the return of AB de Villiers in the national setup. The 37-year-old is still looking absolutely fit and has been in scintillating form off late for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. However, Smith admitted that the case with ABD is slightly different from other free agents because he is a retired cricketer.
However, SA's head coach Mark Boucher had earlier revealed that he will be talking to AB de Villiers about a possible return to the national side. With IPL suspended and South Africa planning to start their preparation for the mega event, the talks between Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers are expected to take place very soon and the final decision regarding ABD's comeback from retirement might be revealed in the next few days.