NEWS
Follow UsOne of the best spin-hitters in the country at the moment, Shivam Dube, has grown massively in terms of his range-hitting and how he takes on pacers as well. It has allowed a spectrum to his performance that was hitherto absent, but it’s something India can utilize fully going into the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.
It was on show against Gujarat Titans as Dube leveled up against pacers, particularly against Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma, on his way to 51 runs off just 23 balls. So much so that Mohit Sharma, once used to be the premier pacer in the CSK line-up, called Dube’s improvement a blessing for Indian cricket.
"How Shivam Dube has improved himself over the past few seasons deserves a lot of praise. If we look at it from a broader spectrum, this is good for Indian cricket. Because there are big tournaments coming up. It is a good thing for CSK," Mohit Sharma said in the post-match press conference.
"When you make a package for a batter, you tend to be a step ahead of the batter. For a player like Dube, it is like he is aware probably that a yorker is going to come in next, a slower bouncer is going to come in."
Recently, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming revealed that Dube always tries to go for six in the nets, and that’s exactly the role the management wanted him to play. Anything else that comes up is just a mis-hit or to push the game forward. That clarity in role has helped Dube and that trait really impressed the former Indian pacer.
"When we were chatting in the ground, I told him it would be difficult to hit the longer part of the ground with my variations. But he was pretty clear as to how what he wanted to do and what to avoid.
“And for me, for a longer period, you need to have that mindset. The way that he has batted so far and how he is going at the moment, he has a bright future ahead for whichever team he is going to represent," said Mohit.
Gujarat Titans went on with a three-pronged pace attack, with Mohit Sharma being accompanied by Spencer Johnson and Azmatullah Omarzai. That they missed Mohammed Shami was natural, but Mohit admitted that as long as unit is able to execute their plans properly, things would be better placed.
"The kind of bowler that Shami is, any team would miss his presence. But it’s such a thing that’s totally uncontrollable. Injuries happen. And we need to see how to move forward despite that setback. But from a Gujarat point of view, this is also the first season for Spencer and Azmat," Sharma said.
"They haven’t played a lot of cricket. So we shouldn’t be worried about how many runs they’re giving away. What is more important is whether we are successful in executing our plans. So yes, filling in for Shami is not possible, but the focus should be on how to maximize what we have," the Haryana pacer added.
