Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar on Friday heaped praises on all-rounder Shivam Dube after the latter’s heroics in the recently-concluded IND vs AFG T20I series. Gavaskar attributed Dube’s recent form to his confidence. He also claimed a good IPL season might put Dube up for reckoning for India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
Shivam Dube had a stellar series against Afghanistan. The all-rounder scored consecutive half-centuries in the first two T20Is of the series, also taking two crucial wickets against the Afghans as India completed a whitewash.
Gavaskar felt Dube’s confidence made all the difference in his performance. Gavaskar also pointed a crucial difference in Dube’s bowling in the recent series, saying he was hitting the deck hard rather than floating the ball.
“Shivam Dube toyed with the Afghanistan bowling attack. Dube’s comeback to the T20 team tells you what giving confidence to a player can do. His hitting is something that Indian cricket lovers are aware of, but it was his bowling, where he was hitting the deck rather than floating the ball on a length, that was the eye-opener,” Gavaskar said in his column in Sportstar.
“In his previous opportunities, he looked a bit lost, but this time around, he seems a lot more confident and is hitting the ball out of the ground regularly and easily. If he continues to perform well at the IPL, he gives himself a very good chance of being in the team for the T20 World Cup in June,” Gavaskar added.