South Africa eyes return to training next week as CSA awaits approval from government

Cricket might soon get the green light to resume in South Africa as the country moves out of Stage 3 of the five-stage coronavirus-forced lockdown, according to reports. Cricket South Africa (CSA) is reportedly asked to make a presentation to the government, explaining their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the resumption of the game. Sporting activities all around the world are slowly limping back to normalcy as teams return to training after a gap of nearly two months. 

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Proteas to resume training soon  

According to reports, CSA is expected to make its presentation to the government by this week as the governing body looks to allow the resumption of training by next week after receiving the required approvals. The Level 3 stage of the lockdown allows the resumption of non-contact professional sports training and matches after due approval from the country's sports ministry. CSA also has a stage-wise training resumption plan - firstly it wants franchise cricketers to start training in accordance with the guidelines issued by the ICC including the ban on the use of saliva. Later, the board will take calls on the possibilities of players traveling for training and then participating in matches. According to the report, CSA is planning to organise an event, "something which we have not seen before." 

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Elgar shows interest in captaincy

"It's definitely not an easy journey being a Test captain but I think leadership is something that comes extremely naturally to me," Elgar said during an interview with Cricket South Africa (CSA) which was released on Monday.

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"I've captained teams in the past, right up from school level to provincial level and at franchise level. I enjoyed it extremely and if I was asked to take on the captaincy, it's definitely something I would think long and hard about because it would mean a lot to me."

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Image credits: AP