As the year 2024 arrived, all teams are starting to gear up fixing their issues before the marquee event in June , the T20I World Cup, to be held at West Indies and The United States of America. Team India in follow up to the world cup are pondering at few places to be as a backups for the likes of injured all rounder Hardik Pandya and T20I star batter Suryakumar Yadav.
With the series versus Afghanistan being the last stint to carry out watch out for the backups, Indian allrounder Shivam Dube has certainly grabbed the eyeballs of the Indian selectors and team management with his stellar performance with both bat and ball in the ongoing 3 match T20I series at home with India now have securing yet another series win with a match to go.
Shivam Dube- A journey from failure to rise in success
Team India’s star all-rounder Shivam Dube produced an incredible outing on Sunday during the second T20I against Afghanistan. Coming to bat at no.4, Dube finished with 63, not out in just 32 balls, as India successfully chased down Afghanistan’s 172, all out with 26 balls remaining. The 30-year-old all-rounder has enjoyed terrific outings in the series so far; in the first match in Mohali, Dube picked two wickets in as many overs and also displayed strong composure in remaining unbeaten on 60, steering India to a convincing win.
But all was not glitters and gold for this tall and lanky all rounder where Shivam Dube who once touted for his striking resemblance of left handed elegance to India’s finest all rounder Yuvraj Singh, after coming to limelight when he smacked 5 sixes in an over in a local tournament and repeating the same feat in the Ranji trophy match failed to live up to his stature when given a chance earlier at the international circuit prior to 2022.
However post 2022,Dube’s career has been on a significant rise since Chennai Super Kings roped him in during the Indian Premier League auction in 2022. While he did enjoy a decent outing in that season — smashing 289 runs in 11 games — Dube had a brilliant 2023 with the Super Kings. He breached the 400-run mark for the first time in the IPL, scoring 418 runs in 16 matches, thus playing an important role in steering the side to a record-equaling fifth title.
While speaking to former Indian opener now turned commentator Abhinav Mukund after the match winning knock, Shivam Dube credited his success to his stint with the Chennai Super Kings and the time he spent with master tactician and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“A little birdie told me”-Swashbuckling all rounder Shivam Dube opens up on his successful return and his stint with cricketing genius MS Dhoni
Former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund now commentator has claimed that all-rounder Shivam Dube had a chat with former Indian captain MS Dhoni and received valuable advice on his game.
Dube had a sensational outing against Afghanistan on his T20I comeback for India as he picked up a wicket and conceded just nine runs in the two overs he bowled during the series opener. The all-rounder also scored a sensational 60* off just 40 balls and ensured his team won the match comfortably by six wickets.
Speaking to Jio Cinema ahead of the second T20I, Abhinav Mukund opened up on the advice that Shivam Dube received from MS Dhoni. He said:
“A little birdie told me that Dube had a chat with MS Dhoni and he told him – not rocket science – don’t attack the short ball.”
Dube’s average against short ball has increased to astonishing 84 in 2023 from meagre 23.5 during the 2021-22 period in T20s.
Shivam Dube on his comeback and mindset
Speaking to reporters ahead of the second T20I, Shivam Dube explained how hard he worked when he was dropped from India’s scheme of things. He also shed light on the importance of doing well in the IPL and getting that momentum potentially for the T20I World Cup later this year.
On this, he stated:
“It’s difficult when things don’t go your way. You cannot do anything about it. I practiced hard, followed a process to get better and worked on the mental and physical aspect.”
Dube further added:
“The more you play T20s, the better idea you get about the combination, so it’s important for all the players and the team. IPL will be very important along with the last two matches of the Afghanistan series. IPL is a big platform, if you do well there, you get a chance to make it to the Indian team.”
With IPL 2024 just round the corner and the Afghanistan series going on, such stellar performances from Shivam Dube on the field with both bat and ball and continuation in the newly found form in the marquee premier league season 2024, will ensure the Indian team selectors and management that India has found an able all round backup for star all rounder Hardik Pandya when the T20I World Cup in the Caribbean Islands and the United States of America commences this June.