INDORE:
Yashasvi Jaiswal
and
Shivam Dube
, who both scored attacking half-centuries in India's six-wicket win over Afghanistan in the second T20I at the Holkar Stadium on Sunday night, are set to find their names in the
BCCI
's list of contracted India players for the 2023-24 season. The Mumbai duo's names were not there when the Board had, on March 26 last year announced the list of 26 India players contracted for the 2022-23 season.
Jaiswal made his Test debut against the West Indies at Roseau in July 2023, and has played four Tests, in which he has scored 316 [email protected], with one hundred and one fifty. On the same West Indies tour, the aggressive left-hander made his T20I debut, in August in Guyana. Since then, Jaiswal has played 16 T20Is, in which he has scored 498 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 163.81, and an average of 35.57. Dube, who made a comeback into India's T20I side after almost three years when he was picked for the Ireland tour in August 2023 after a fabulous season for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, has played 20 T20Is, in which he has scored 275 [email protected], besides taking eight [email protected].
On Sunday night, Dube smashed a 32-ball 63 not out against Afghanistan, taking the rival spinners to the cleaners while making a mockery of the 173-run target set by Afghanistan. The 30-year-old all-rounder has enjoyed a terrific series so far, and has played a key role in India's six-wicket wins in both the T20Is. In Mohali, the big-hitting left-hander carted a 40-ball 60 not out to help India chase down 159, besides picking up two for nine in two overs with his medium-pace bowling.
At Indore, looking to develop his
bowling skills
at the death, skipper Rohit Sharma asked Dube to bowl the 19th over. While Karim Janat and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 20 off it, dispatching him for one six each, Dube, who finished with 1-36 in three overs, would be better off for the experience. Having lost a significant amount of weight in the last couple of years, the tall man has improved his bowling-coming into this series, he took six for 23 in 17 overs for Mumbai against Bihar at Patna in a Ranji Trophy match.
"The selectors and the team management want him to bowl more and more, as that adds immense value to Dube as a player. This is why he is bowling a fair bit during this series. If he can chip in with a few overs with the ball, he can cement his place in the side for the
T20 World Cup
in the West Indies and USA. This is crucial because he is the ideal back-up to the injury-prone
Hardik Pandya
," a reliable source in the BCCI told TOI.
Dube's career has been on a significant surge since coming under the legendary
MS Dhoni's tutelage at the Chennai Super Kings, who bought him in the Indian Premier League auction in 2022. After enjoying a decent outing in IPL-2022 - he scored 289 runs in 11 games -- Dube had a breakaway 2023 for CSK, breaching the 400-run mark for the first time. Playing a key role in CSK's record-equalling fifth IPL-2023 title march, he smashed 418 runs in 16 [email protected], at a strike rate of 158.33, with three fifties under his belt, in a tally that included 35 sixes, the maximum by an Indian batsmen in the last edition of the IPL.
His clean, powerful ball striking style has prompted many to compare Dube to India's 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh. It's a comparison that leaves Dube flattered. "Yes, people have told me that I remind them of Yuvraj Singh. I feel very proud when people compare my batting style with that of a great like Yuvraj," Dube had told this paper after his IPL heroics last year.
On Sunday night, Dube again credited Dhoni and the CSK coaching staff for instilling confidence in him. "This credit goes to the CSK team and Mahi bhai. I always had the game, but what CSK did is take out that game from a player. So, they have given me that confidence. They told me that I could score runs in the IPL and that they believed in me. The likes of Hussey and Fleming said they had faith in me and that I could do what they wanted," Dube said.
English (US) ·