Team India clinched another bilateral series, this time a three-match T20 assignment against Afghanistan at home, with one match still to go. With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav unavailable, the team management went back to the senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, apart from calling back T20 specialists Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube realising that this is the chance to test them where they stand since it was the final assignment before the T20 World Cup.
Among everyone, Shivam Dube has turned out to be the most impressive Indian player in the series with a couple of wickets in the two games and has smashed back-to-back half-centuries. Dube, whose career has turned 180 degrees after a couple of seasons in the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings, has been used by the Men in Blue as the middle-order enforcer as well and the tall left-hander has flourished.
After a 40-ball 60*, Dube showed that he can play fast as well with an unbeaten 63 off just 32 balls in Indore in the second game. Former India cricketer Rohan Gavaskar feels that even when Hardik Pandya is back in the squad, Dube might be able to retain his place.
Speaking on Cricbuzz after the second T20I, Gavaskar said, "We have been talking about him as, 'Oh, listen, what if Hardik is unfit?', I think what he is doing is making sure that even if Hardik is fit, he is on that plane in that World Cup squad. If you put in performances like this, it is very hard for anyone to drop you. It is going to be a really tough decision for the selectors if they decide to drop him. He is doing all that he can, which is giving the selectors a headache."
Dube, who made his T20 debut back in 2019 but has made a comeback on the back of consistent performances in the IPL and is now able to replicate on the international stage too.
“After these two games, I think he now feels that he belongs at the international level. He has got the appreciation and respect of his teammates because he put in two absolutely wonderful performances. I think he is just a lot more comfortable about his own game. He knows his own game better. He is not trying to copy anyone now. He is saying, This is what I can do and what I bring to the table,” Gavaskar further added.
