Shivam Dube’s power-hitting ability with the bat is never in question. He is one of the cleanest strikers in Indian cricket and tonks the spinners into the stands quite mercilessly, but in addition to his ability to clear the rope, his role in the Indian side is to bowl a few overs of medium pace when and if required. Although he is not as quick as Hardik Pandya, he does have a few tricks up his sleeve with his military medium, and on Wednesday against the UAE, he managed to (3/4) from just two overs.
“Morne has been working with me since I came back into the Indian team for the England series. He has given me certain specific advice and I worked on them,” said Dube after India’s thumping nine-wicket win over UAE in Dubai. “He told me to bowl a line that is slightly outside the off-stump. He also worked with me in developing a slower delivery and tweaked my run-up a bit. The head coach and the skipper had told me that my bowling would have a role to play.”
UAE were only able to manage 57 runs on the board, which India chased in 4.3 overs and did not need Dube’s batting services. The 32-year-old, speaking about where his game with the bat is, said: “For the last two months, I have worked a great deal on my fitness. As far as my batting is concerned, I know I have a role to play (as a power-hitter) in the middle overs. I know over the years, bowlers targeted me with short balls, and I have worked on increasing my range of shots,” Dube said.
Although the win was on the easier side and the UAE is not amongst the highest-ranked ICC sides, Dube recalled what Head Coach Gautam Gambhir said to him, “Whenever we play for India, we don’t consider any match as a warm-up match. It’s about pride to play for the country,” Dube said in the post-match press conference. “Be it against UAE or Pakistan, every game is important for me. Gauti bhai always said this: whenever you represent India, it is a chance to do something miraculous.”
