'Asked for his bat so he could stop hitting me for sixes': SA's Tabraiz Shamsi vows another 'battle' against India star
South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi had poor outings in the recently-concluded T20I series against India, where he picked only 1 wicket in four matches.
The five-match T20I series between India and South Africa ended in a 2-2 draw, with the final game being washed out in Bengaluru. India had made an emphatic comeback in the series after losing the first two matches, beating the Proteas by 48 runs in Vizag before securing a dominant 82-run victory in Rajkot. While there were a number of positives for both sides in the series, South Africa ended with concerns over their star spinner Tabraiz Shamsi's form.
Shamsi, who was the joint-highest wicket-taker in T20Is last year (alongside Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga), picked only 1 wicket in four innings while conceding at 10.2 runs/over. He bowled 10 overs throughout the four innings and wasn't included in the XI in the final T20I.
However, the left-arm spinner isn't too stressed about his performances in the series, and instead looks forward to a better outing on his next visit to India. Taking to his official Twitter account, Shamsi also sent a message to batter Shreyas Iyer, who had particularly hit the bowler for boundaries on a number of occasions throughout the series.
“Asked @ShreyasIyer15 for his bat before the game so he could stop hitting me for 6s haha ...you definitely won this round bud!” Shamsi wrote.
“I'll be back... better prepared... and ready to do battle with you again.”
Shamsi is currently ranked third in the T20I rankings for bowlers, trailing only Australia's Josh Hazlewood (1st) and England spinner Adil Rashid (2nd).
South Africa will return to action on July 19 when the side takes on England in the ODI series away. The three-match series will be followed by another three-T20I series, following which the Proteas will take on Ireland.
India, meanwhile, defeated Ireland 2-0 in the two-match series on Tuesday, and will return to action in the shortest format on July 7 against England.