India all-rounder Shivam Dube justified his selection for the T20I series against Afghanistan, scoring back-to-back half-centuries as the hosts went 2-0 up in the 3-match assignment. Dube, who remained unbeaten in both matches so far, has been a revelation this series, rising up to the challenge, especially in the wake of the T20 World Cup 2024 selection. After his heroics earned India a spectacular victory in the 2nd T20I against Afghanistan in Indore, Dube paid a special tribute to his Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings, and MS Dhoni.
Dube, who was bought by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2022 auction for a price of INR 4 crore, has emerged as a true pace bowling all-rounder, filling the void left by Hardik Pandya in the Indian team. While Dube has had the game in him, he is grateful to CSK and Dhoni for getting the best out of him.
“The credit goes to the CSK team and Mahi bhai because I have always had the game in me. But bringing out the best from a player is something done by CSK,” Dube said after the match on Jio Cinema.
“All the things they have given me, the confidence, they have told me that ‘Shivam, you can score runs in the IPL, don’t worry, we believe in you’. And many others, like Mike Hussey and Fleming, told me that they have faith in me. It was there in my mind,” he added.
Shivam Dube finished off India’s run-chase with a spectacular knock of 63 runs off 32 balls. In company, he had opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal who scored 68 runs off just 34 balls. Despite sparing 4.2 overs in the chase of 173 runs, Dube said that he should’ve finished the game even earlier.
“The skipper is really happy, he told me well played. We both are stroke players, we know our game. My role was to take on the spinners, but our plan was to both attack and finish the game early. There wasn’t any target in mind, but we should have finished the game earlier,” Dube said.
“There are many things that have worked, apart from skill it is about how mentally you prepare for the T20 game. How to handle pressure, and deciding which bowlers to take on,” he concluded.
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