The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly decided to allow 100% capacity in stadiums for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa.
The Indian team will host the Temba Bavuma-led Proteas unit in a five-match affair following the culmination of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
The series will get underway at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on June 9 before the caravan moves on to Cuttack (June 12), Visakhapatnam (June 14), Rajkot (June 17) and finally, the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru (June 19).
A BCCI source confirmed the development of the news agency ANI on Thursday.
Since the onset of the global pandemic, this will be the first time that an international series in India will take place amid 100% capacity.
During the 2nd and 3rd Test against England, crowds were allowed in the following ties against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the last 12 months but with restrictions.
Even the league stage of the ongoing season of the IPL has placed restrictions on crowd capacity. But, with the cases in the country easing off, the BCCI has decided to do away with the bio-bubble and crowd restrictions.
The playoffs of the IPL will see a full capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens and the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Bio-bubbles are also not likely to be in place for the South African series.
Meanwhile, South Africa has already named a strong squad for the series. On the other hand, the hosts are likely to field a second-string side as the first-choice players are slated to touch down in England on June 16.
South Africa squad for the T20I series:
Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen.