The musical chairs of Gautam Gambhir’s experimentation in the batting order has a huge impact on Shivam Dube. Shivam Dube‘s batting position has been a talking point since the 2nd T20I where Harshit Rana was send above Shivam Dube in the batting order.
Young speedster Harshit Rana batted at No. 7 in the second T20I between India & Australia. He was sent ahead of batting all-rounder Shivam Dube, who walked out to bat at No. 8. Shubman Gill explained the rationale behind the move after India’s four-wicket loss at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, October 31.
India lost their fifth wicket in the eighth over with only 49 runs on the board. Abhishek Sharma was firing on all cylinders from one end. Harshit joined the Punjab batter in the middle and added a 56-run standoff 47 balls. The 23-year-old scored 35 off 33 balls, hitting three fours and a six. After he was dismissed in the 16th over, Shivam Dube lasted just two deliveries as Xavier Bartlett bagged two wickets in three balls.
India might have wanted to shield Shivam Dube, the more established batter and preserve him for the back end of the innings, where he could help the tourists add some quick runs with his big-hitting abilities. The southpaw isn’t known for having a solid defensive technique, and he could have been found wanting on the spicy deck in Melbourne against the rampaging Australian pacers.
Shivam Dube edged both deliveries he faced in the innings; one of them went for a boundary through third man, and the other was taken superbly by wicketkeeper Josh Inglis by diving to his left.
Coming to the 3rd T20I nothing changed as in this match too batting position experimentation continued with the Indian team that now Jitesh Sharma and Washington Sundar was preferred over Shivam Dube in the batting order. This multiple re shuffles in the batting order enraged Former Indian speedster Zaheer Khan who now has questioned about Shivam Dube’s demotion in the batting order for India.
Zaheer Khan lashes out on team management after Shivam Dube was demoted in the batting order in the 3rd T20I
Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan believes the warning signs are out on Shivam Dube after he was demoted outside the top seven of the batting order for a second consecutive outing in the third T20I against Australia in Hobart. With India losing five wickets early, Shivam Dube was pushed down to No. 8 with Harshit Rana coming ahead of him at No. 7 in the second T20I.
Shivam Dube lasted only two deliveries and fell for four as India suffered a crushing four-wicket defeat. Come the third T20I, the 32-year-old once again did not come out to bat in the top seven with India chasing 187 for victory. The move did not backfire on this occasion as the Men in Blue completed a convincing five-wicket win to level the series at 1-1.Talking about Dube’s position in the T20I side after the third ODI, Zaheer said on Cricbuzz :
“In this whole process, one wonders where Shivam Dube is going to sit. He is someone who has been consistently performing and now suddenly is batting at No. 8.
It means that there are many less opportunities, and he will definitely be feeling the pressure. It’s not a great sign for any batter if you’re just being pushed down the order, be it taking responsibility or finishing the job.”
He continued:
“You’ve seen that someone else has already finished (Sundar and Jitesh). And in the last innings, he got the opportunity and got out. Out is out and that’s just going to build pressure.
So he will have to have a conversation with Washington Sundar on how to manage the in-out situation. But in the next innings, when he bats in a normal position, he’ll certainly feel the pressure.”
Shivam Dube was instrumental with the bat in India’s recent Asia Cup triumph, scoring a 22-ball 33 under pressure in the final against Pakistan. The veteran bowled three expensive overs with the ball in the third T20I, conceding 43 runs with one wicket. The India vs Australia T20 series will now move to Gold Coast for the fourth T20I on Thursday.
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