CSA's director of cricket Graeme Smith expects a "really busy period" for South African cricket in the coming months © Getty

South Africa's always unlikely tour to the Caribbean is off because of the coronavirus pandemic, but their men's team expect to be "really busy" from November. And, unlike in the CPL, the country's players are expected to be involved in the IPL.

"West Indies has been postponed indefinitely," Graeme Smith, CSA's director of cricket, said during an online press conference on Saturday (August 1) about the men's series of two Tests and five T20Is scheduled from July 23 to August 16. The three ODIs and three T20Is South Africa were to have played in Sri Lanka in June have suffered the same fate.

"We're struggling to find a time now, with the IPL being fitted in. It looks like our players are going to be needed from the beginning of September, government permitting and travel permitting." This year's IPL has been moved to the UAE and has been slated to be played from September 19 to November 8.

Smith said something like normal service might resume in the coming months: "Probably from November onwards, if all goes well with the pandemic, it's going to be a really busy period for South African cricket; probably playing in times that we haven't played before and trying to cram in a lot of the missed tours that have taken place."

It emerged this week that Colin Ingram, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi and Rassie van der Dussen would, because of travel restrictions, not be able to be in Trinidad by Saturday to serve a required 14-day quarantine to fulfil their CPL contracts. That leaves Pakistan-born Imran Tahir as the sole South African in the competition.

But there are hopes that South Africa's IPL contingent - Faf du Plessis, Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Hardus Viljoen, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Chris Morris and Dale Steyn - will be able to make the trip to the UAE.

South Africa's women's team are due to be in England to play two T20s and four ODIs from September 1 to 16.