The Indian cricket team are preparing to have their first of three Test matches against South Africa from December 26th while spending time at the Johannesburg resort, where they have been stationed for the entirety of their stay while in the country.

However, even before the first match begins, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have dropped a major development regarding the surge in Omicron variant cases within South Africa which might suggest a not-so-happy ending for the series, regardless of how well the Men in Blue play.

According to media reports, the Indian cricket board has taken a “guarantee” from Cricket South Africa (CSA) that the team and the coaching staff will be allowed to leave the country in a hurry if the COVID-19 situation continues to worsen during their time there.

Dr. Shuaib Manjra, the CSA's top medical officer, said that the South African government had received the news and pledged that the Indian team would be allowed to leave the country even if the borders were closed.

This would obviously mean that the chances of India’s tour of the Proteas getting called off midway are really high considering the fact that about 35,000 people per one million people in South Africa are infected with the pandemic virus and also because the Omicron variant is more contagious and likely to reinfect than its predecessor, the Delta variant.

Despite the loss against the New Zealand squad in the World Test Championship final in England earlier this year, the past couple of years have been incredible for Virat Kohli and his Test cricket team, Defeating Australia after 33 years at the Gabba and winning the Border-Gavaskar trophy Down Under for the second consecutive time were India’s biggest achievement during this run in the longest format of the game.

After picking a 1-0 win against the Black Caps at home, Team India would have been looking to win the Test Series in South Africa in the next month and a half - a feat, the Men in Blue have not yet achieved throughout their history of international cricket.

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