SA-WI T20I series likely to be reduced due to clash with World Cup

South Africa may be forced to shorten their only men's international home series this summer - against West Indies - for both teams to get to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka on time. South Africa are scheduled to host West Indies for five T20Is between January 27 and February 6, but as reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, the T20 World Cup is likely to be played between February 7 and March 8.

If the tournament does begin on February 7, the ICC's support period - the time during which teams are expected to arrive in the host countries and play non-obligatory warm-up games - starts on January 31. That has moved up from February 3, and CSA had drawn up their home fixtures with the understanding that South Africa would have enough time to travel to the T20 World Cup.

It is not mandatory for teams to spend the entire ICC support period in the host venue; the ICC has asked participating countries to list how many warm-up matches they want to play, with options ranging between zero to two. Only if a country opts for two warm-up matches will the support period become one week prior to the tournament opener. CSA is currently in discussions with Cricket West Indies to see when West Indies want to arrive in the subcontinent and how many warm-up matches they want to play there. If teams opt for no warm-up games, the ICC support period is four days prior to the first match on February 7, which is February 3.

Even if West Indies do not want to play any T20 World Cup warm-up matches, CSA will still have to cull at least two of the five T20Is; the last two games are on February 3 and 6. The fixtures cannot be played any earlier with the SA20 ending on January 25. CSA is currently deciding which venues should host the matches against West Indies - at present, the venues are likely to be Paarl, Newlands, Buffalo Park in East London, Centurion and Johannesburg.

England and Sri Lanka narrowly escape this problem; their three-T20I series in Sri Lanka will be played between January 30 and February 3. They also have the benefit of being in one of the host nations at the time.

South Africa do not have any other men's international fixtures at home this season, in part because their all-format tour of India ends on December 19, which left no space for matches before the original window of the SA20 in the first week of January. The SA20 has now been moved into the festive period and will start on December 26.

However, the league is not the only reason for the lack of men's international fixtures. CSA always planned on having a less-crowded summer this year to prepare their venues for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Currently, drop-in pitches are in development around the country. Next season, South Africa play ten home Tests (eight men's and two women's), including three-match series against Australia and England.