India players are asked to shower for just two minutes in Cape Town

The South African city is going through a substantial water shortage

India's cricket stars have been asked to not shower for longer than two minutes while in Cape Town, as the South African city endures one of its worst ever water shortages.

The Indian Express reported that the players were requested to adhere to the city-wide guidelines imposed recently amid a severe drought when they arrived at the team hotel, as underground water levels dipped and a 'level six' crisis was declared.

The ongoing situation is officially the Western Cape's worst drought in 113 years, and the use of drinking water to fill pools, wash cars and water gardens has been banned by local authorities.

Residents are not permitted to use more than 87 litres of water per day - barely enough for a 10-minute shower - while businesses in the region have been asked to cut their usage in half.

And ahead of the first of three Test matches between South Africa and India, which is due to start on Friday, Virat Kohli and Co will be expected to stick to the existing policies.

"With many in the Indian team hailing from areas with water problems, they understand the severity of the situation, but they aren’t quite timing their baths as of now," the Indian Express reported.

There are concerns that taps could eventually run dry in Cape Town, with dam levels having already dropped to 32 per cent over the course of three dry years.

'Day Zero' - the term coined for the loss of tap water in the city - is expected to arrive when those levels drop as low as 14 per cent.

"We are building two desalinisation plants and each one will bring on about seven million litres per day but people will now have to get used to the fact that water will never be in abundance again and we must save it at all time," Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille was reported as saying.