India and South Africa will resume their on-field rivalry from 2 October. The fans have been eagerly waiting for this marathon series where these two teams will play three Twenty20s, five ODIs and four Test matches within a period of about two-and-a-half-month.
The cricket boards of India and South Africa have decided to rename it as Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series to pay tribute to these iconic leaders of the respective countries. It is also being termed as "The Freedom Series".
Cricket South Africa (CSA) recently launched the promo video of the Gandhi-Mandela Series which showcases some glorious moments from previous India and South Africa series.
The two countries share 400 years of cricket history, says the video towards the end of it. The love for cricket brings the two nations together again. Respect will remain on and off the field, but the teams' fierce rivalry will be on display when they play the first T20 game of the energy-sapping series at Dharamsala stadium on 2 October.
The video, which will serve as a promo for South Africa's tour of India, is quite heart-warming. It shows how the two countries resumed playing cricket after so many years. It also has some fantastic moments, like Sachin Tendulkar's double hundred in an ODI against South Africa, Alan Donald's fiery spell in a Test match against India and more.
The South Africans are supposed to reach India on Sunday and after a day of rest they will resume with their practice where they will sweat it out ahead of the T20 series. Meanwhile, the Indian team has been training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had named 30 probables for the training camp, out of which 12 have been released. The released players will resume their duties for their respective states to feature in the Ranji Trophy this season. These players also did not make it to the either of the sqauds BCCI selectors had announced on last Sunday.
