India will begin their tour of South Africa on December 26 and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are expected to announce their Test squad for the three-match series in the coming days. The Indian team will tour the African nation for three Tests and as many ODIs.
Currently, the India ‘A’ side is currently in South Africa as they take part in three unofficial Tests. A select number of players who have represented the Indian Test team are taking part in the ‘A’ tour and the best performers across the three games are likely to be in contention for a place in the India squad.
Team India youngster Prithvi Shaw is also taking part in the ‘A’ tour – however, he has been going through a rough patch in South Africa. In the three games so far (one innings remaining), Shaw has scored 113 runs at an average of 28.25. While his strike rate has been above 90, he has failed to score a single half-century so far.
His performances across the tour have drawn criticism from former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, who lashed out at Shaw for not biding his time at the crease.
{{/usCountry}}His performances across the tour have drawn criticism from former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, who lashed out at Shaw for not biding his time at the crease.
{{/usCountry}}“You continue to play your natural game, get dismissed early and suddenly, your team is 70/4. If it's a four-day game, scoring at a strike rate of 90 cannot be termed as quality. What accounts for quality is to play 3-4 sessions and score a strong hundred,” Butt said on his official YouTube channel, after a fan asked him to comment on Shaw's outings.
“The whole team should build on your hundred. What's the point of 30-40 runs in a four-day game? You can even score at a strike rate of 150, but it doesn't matter as long as you are only scoring 30-40 runs,” said the former Pakistan captain.
Prithvi Shaw was a part of India's tour of Australia last year, but was excluded from the Test team after inconsistent performances in the whites.