In the year of the T20 World Cup, Shivam Dube made a first big impact with his all-round performance in the first T20I against Afghanistan on Thursday to strengthen his contention to be selected in the T20 WC squad.
With Hardik Pandya currently injured, Shivam Dube grabbed his opportunity with both hands in Mohali. He bowled two overs, returning with impressive figures of 1/9, taking an important wicket of Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran.
With the bat then, in the chase of 159, Dube, batting at number 4, cracked 60* runs in 40, and finished off the match with a four. Given Hardik Pandya is injury-prone, India have steadily schemed Dube into the T20I setup since last year, preparing him as a back-up for Pandya in the seam-bowling all-rounder’s position. And the 30-year-old Dube delivered an impressive all-round performance in Mohali.
“If Mahi bhai saw your bowling tonight..” Suresh Raina on Shivam Dube
After the match, Shivam Dube had a funny conversation with Suresh Raina about his CSK captain, MS Dhoni. Dube played an important role last season for CSK, being CSK’s spin-basher in the middle-order and helping his side win the IPL 2023 season.
However, surprisingly, MS Dhoni didn’t give him a single ball to bowl in the entire season. Dube was only used as an Impact Player by Dhoni and CSK, which meant he only got to play a part with the bat in hand.
In Mohali, after the game, Suresh Raina suggested that looking at Dube’s bowling against Afghanistan, Dhoni would now surely give him some overs in the upcoming IPL 2024 season. Both of them laughed and Dube responded by saying that he hoped Dhoni was listening to Raina’s suggestion.
Suresh Raina: “If Mahi bhai saw your bowling tonight then your 3 overs are fixed for CSK this season (laughs).”
Dube: “Mahi bhai please listen to Raina bhai (smiles).”
๐ฟ๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ก๐ ๐#TeamIndia takes the lead in #IDFCFirstBankT20ITrophy ๐ช#JioCinemaSports #GiantsMeetGameChangers #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/NfstiW1s4O
โ JioCinema (@JioCinema) January 11, 2024
The IPL 2024 season is likely to start on March 22.
