New Delhi: In the final part of this year, South Africa will host a two-match test series against India to kick off their 2023–2025 World Test Championship cycle.

The Tests will be held at SuperSport Park and Newlands on the customary Boxing Day and New Year's Day weekends.

After being absent for four years due to the Covid-19 outbreak and South Africa's holiday tour of Australia, the New Year's Test is back in Cape Town.

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The Tests will be the first for South Africa since their 2-0 victory over the West Indies in March of this year at home and the second of India's World Cup campaign after their current matches in the West Indies. The Test matches will be the last of a tour that will also include three ODIs and three T20Is.

India last visited South Africa to play a Test match in late December 2021 or early January 2022, which was the previous WTC cycle. India defeated South Africa in the first Test in Centurion by a score of 113 runs, but lost the next two matches by similar scores of seven wickets in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

However, it didn't stop India from competing in the WTC final, where they were defeated by Australia. South Africa, on the other hand, came in third place and just missed making it to the championship game.

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Kingsmead, St George's Park, the Wanderers, SuperSport Park, and Newlands, as well as Paarl's Boland Park, will all see some action, but there are no matches scheduled in the country's central area, which encompasses the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg.

"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," Lawson Naidoo, CSA chair, said in a statement. "The tour also allows us to showcase the best of South Africa and we have spread out matches across the nation."

"The Boxing Day Test and the New Year Test are amongst the most important fixtures on the international cricket calendar and the schedule has been planned particularly around these marquee dates," Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, said.

The SA20 will immediately follow the India series, which will be the only men's international cricket match played in South Africa in the summer of 2023–24 (South Africa will host Australia for three T20Is and five ODIs in August–September).

South Africa is scheduled to visit New Zealand for two Test matches in the middle of February before a Caribbean tour in the middle of the year. For the entirety of the 2023–2025 WTC cycle, South Africa will only play two-Test series; their subsequent three Test series will be played when they face Australia in October 2026.

India vs South Africa Schedule:

10 December 2023 - 1st T20I - Durban

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