Kohli: Confident there will be clarity soon on India’s tour of SA

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Concerns have been raised about India's upcoming tour of South Africa, with questions being asked about whether the Test and limited-overs sides would be able to go due to the advent of the Omicron strain of the Coronavirus, which has alerted the world.

Virat Kohli, India's Test and One-Day International captain, said on Thursday (December 2) that a discussion has begun inside the team and that the situation will be clarified soon.

Kohli also stated that the matter cannot be ignored and that it must be dealt with in a "realistic" manner.

"It's pretty natural (to be concerned), we're not playing in normal times anyway. So there's a lot of planning involved. There's a lot of preparation involved in terms of understanding exactly what's going to go on. There are players who are not part of the group right now who will be entering quarantine to join the team, in the bubble, to fly in a charter. Those kind of things, you want to seek clarity as soon as possible," Kohli said in the press conference on the eve of India's second Test against New Zealand.

"We have spoken to all the senior members of the squad. Obviously Rahul bhai has initiated a conversation within the group, which is very important to know. At the end of the day we understand - our focus from the Test match will not shift regardless - but you want to have clarity and want to be in a situation where you know exactly what's going on. We've been talking to the board and we are pretty confident that within a day or two, or pretty soon we'll have absolute clarity as to what is going on.

"But we need to be realistic about things as well. We cannot just ignore the things that potentially could put you in a confusing place. And no one wants to be there. I'm sure everyone is working hard towards finding clarity and giving us the situation as it unfolds, as soon as possible. We all are hopeful that that will happen soon and as I said, our prime focus right now is the second Test. And the other things are simultaneously being taken care of," added Kohli.

Moreover, Cricket South Africa also called off the Division two 4-Day matches which was to take place from December 2-5, with some positive cases emerging from the pre-arrival testing sessions.