'Asked Shreyas Iyer for his bat, so, he could stop hitting me for sixes' - Tabraiz Shamsi assesses his performance in India T20Is
Tabraiz Shamsi will most likely feature next in the white ball series against England next month.
The five-match series between India and South Africa left fans wanting more as the five-match T20I series finished 2-2 after the fifth game was washed out by rain. South Africa’s star spinner Tabraiz Shamsi took to Twitter to address his recent performance in the series and has vowed to come back stronger next time.
The Indian team was 0-2 down after the first two games and were staring at another series loss against the hands of the Proteas after tasting defeat in Tests and white-ball cricket in South Africa earlier this year. But the Men in Blue turned things around nicely as they dominated the visitors in the next two fixtures to draw level in the series.
Shamsi, who was the leading wicket-taker in T20Is in 2021 alongside Wanindu Hasaranga, came into the series with a big reputation but failed to live up to it as he grabbed just one wicket in four outings against the Indian team. The spinner pointed out Shreyas Iyer as his nemesis and revealed in a Twitter post that he asked for his bat so the batter could stop hitting him for boundaries. The South African also vowed to be better prepared the next time they come face to face in a contest.
“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.”
Tabraiz Shamsi will have a tough assignment against an in-form England side next month
The left-arm spinner has now slipped up to third place in the latest T20I rankings for bowlers by ICC as Australia’s Josh Hazelwood has positioned himself at the top slot, with England’s Adil Rashid moving up to the second place ahead of Shamsi.
He will be looking for a better outing against a punishing English side as South Africa will travel to England for a three-match ODI series from 19th July, which will be followed by another three-match T20I series, before squaring up against Ireland in a two-match T20I series.
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