NEW DELHI: After left-handed hitter
Shivam Dube
struck an unbeaten 66 off 38 balls in CSK's 20-run victory over Mumbai Indians in an IPL match in Mumbai, bowling coach
Eric Simmons
stated that teams are "scared" to bowl spin against Dube because of his ability to control games.
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MI did not continue with their spinners after the eighth over, despite having utilized up to seven different bowling options.
Dube just had to deal with one ball from a spinner,
Shreyas Gopal
.
"When he (Dube) comes on, they take the spinners off (and) they put the pacemen on. He has become more and more effective at that. But they didn't bowl spin again (in) the rest of the game because he was at the wicket," Simmons told the media after Sunday's match.
"It's about how you control the match and someone like him can control it because they can't ball spin anymore. They don't want to. They're scared to. His ability to be effective against the pace bowling has become a massive asset for him," he added.
Simmons claimed that not enough emphasis has been paid to Dube's ability to combine timing and physical force.
"He hit a cover drive through extra cover. It was just the flow of the bat. It wasn't the brute force that he sometimes does it with; it just flew to the fence. I don't think people appreciate the timing with which he hits the ball. He's got some brute force, but his timing is outstanding," he said.
Simmons said CSK's philosophy to allow players prosper with "safety to try and fail" and has helped them unlock the talent they already have.
"One of the most important things you can give your cricketers is something called safety. Psychological safety is the buzzword. Safety to fail, safety to try, safety to grow, be challenged all the time, but be trusted," he said.
"Last year, there was the joke with
Shardul
(Thakur) that he was going for (both) the purple cap and the orange cap because he went for so many runs, but (he) was taking wickets. We trusted him and he knew he was safe," he said.
"From Shivam Dube's perspective, to play like he does, you have to initially take risks. There was a while that he was battling a bit.
"But allowing someone to grow, allowing someone to feel safe, to make mistakes and become better is an important part of it and that's what's happened with him," he added.
Simmons stated that
Matheesha Pathirana
's ability to "work things out" for himself is a skill that gives him success after the Sri Lankan bowler returned with figures of 4 for 28 to record a match-winning spell for CSK.
"The wickets is a bonus but his accuracy was really good, because sometimes you bowl accurately (but) not (get) the wickets," he said.
"I give him a target (and) how he does it, he works out for himself. He works his own technique out. I give him a glove, hit the glove. I give him a target at the bottom of the pitch, hit the target. He works it out," Simmons added.
(With PTI inputs)
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