No handshakes for SA players in India

NEW DELHI: South Africa and India are likely to avoid shaking hands with each other during their three-match One-day International (ODI) series, which starts on Thursday (tomorrow).

They will exchange fist bumps instead as a precaution against COVID-19. The 11-day tour is going ahead after CSA conducted an expert assessment of the risk of traveling given the growing number of global coronavirus infections, and deemed it safe for the team to transit through New Dubai and Delhi and play in Dharamsala, Lucknow and Kolkata.

The team has been briefed on precautionary measures and CSA’s chief medical officer, Dr Shuaib Manjra, will be traveling with the team. Other than the lack of handshakes - which will also be the case for England in Sri Lanka - South Africa have not been given any other specific instructions. South Africa’s tour of India was given a green signal after their board completed a risk assessment regarding the spread of COVID-19 across the world.