SA vs WI 2026: Schedule cut short to avoid clash with T20 World Cup

Published - 30 Sept 2025, 16:24 IST | Updated - 30 Sept 2025, 16:38 IST

South Africa will only host three T20Is against West Indies instead of five in their only men's home international series the upcoming summer. The games at Newlands in Cape Town and Buffalo Park in East London will not take place as initially planned.

This is due to a clash with the T20 World Cup. The matches which were originally planned to end on February 6 will now have to end by January 31. The T20 World Cup support period begins in February. Due to this, two fixtures have been erased.

There is no ODI cricket scheduled in the South African calendar. Hence, the final T20I will automatically be celebrated as the “Pink Day”. For the unversed, this is an annual occasion in which the Proteas men's team wears a special pink-coloured jersey from their usual theme of green and yellow to raise funds as well as awareness for the treatment of breast cancer.

In addition to this, Cricket South Africa have added three U-19 ODIs against India in a bid to prepare for the Under-19 World Cup. The matches will be played between January 3 and 7 at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. The schedule for the fixtures for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia as well, are yet to be released.

South Africa will not play a lot at home in their summer due to playing in foreign conditions until December 19. Their World Test Championship defence will begin in Pakistan next month, in addition to three ODIs and as many T20Is. The Pakistan tour will be followed by an all-format assignment against India in India, consisting of two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is.

PAK pick three uncapped players for two-match SA Test series

The second reason for the lack of home contests is that the grounds all around the nation are being prepared for the home ODI World Cup in 2027. The mega event will be hosted across the African continent. Drop-in surfaces are being developed all across the venues for the quadrennial event, where Australia will be entering as reigning champions.