Last year, Shivam Dube‘s name was making the headlines. The all-rounder performed well for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). This warranted him a place in the T20 World Cup squad. And he performed decently and ended up winning the silverware. But now the player is missing from the scene and Aakash Chopra has questioned Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir about the same.
Shivam Dube however did suffer injury and was not a part of the Bangladesh series. But since then, he has recovered and is playing domestic cricket. The southpaw has played the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. But his name is missing from the IND vs ENG T20I series. This prompted the former India cricketer to question the head coach and the chief selector.
What happened to Shivam Dube?
Aakash Chopra was unfiltered when he blasted Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar about Dube. The finisher played a crucial knock in the T20 World Cup finals against South Africa which the Men in Blue eventually won. He also argued that Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rajat Patidar are unable to make their spot in the team after their recent drop in performances.
“What happened to Shivam Dube? I wanted to talk about Ruturaj (Gaikwad) as well but he is not able to make his place. Rajat Patidar is also there. Obviously, there is a lot of batting. However, now I am going to focus a little bit on Shivam Dube. He was a member of the T20 World Cup-winning team,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“When you win, everyone should get the credit. He even played decently in the final. Before that, there were definitely some questions that he wasn’t fielding or batting well. However, then he played well and became the T20 World Cup champion,” he added.
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All focus on Hardik Pandya & Nitish Kumar Reddy?
Aakash Chopra pointed out how the BCCI think tank has changed its focus. He claimed the duo had ignored Dube and turned their attention to new rising star Nitish Kumar Reddy and veteran Hardik Pandya. He claimed that Dube deserved a longer spell after he was a part of the World Cup-winning team and helped in the team’s success.
“After that, he remained injured a little, didn’t get too many opportunities either, and is now out of the team. No one is talking about him as well. Riyan Parag is not being talked about because he is injured but no one is asking where Dube went. He suddenly disappeared from the horizon,” Chopra added.
“If he was good enough to be a part of the World Cup squad, I am sure he would be worthy of playing for another one or two years. He has remained out because of injury, but there was a theory earlier that whoever goes out due to injury, will come back in first, and whoever replaced him would have to sit out no matter what he might have done,” he concluded.
