Shivam Dube has improved massively as an all-rounder while playing for India.
While his T20 revolution started at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Shivam Dube has been best utilised by India in the shortest format. They have shown trust in him so much that he opened the bowling innings in the Asia Cup 2025 final. Obviously, he turned into a beast at CSK, but India have been smarter with his usage.
Now Dube is a player with certain limitations. Once, he was seen as a spin hitter – an ability that has taken a hit lately – but now he has developed more against pace. But more importantly, the team has nailed his entry point, working on utilising his improved pace game.
India have tried slotting him when a few overs are left, with pacers still to bowl. Take his fifty against England in Pune earlier this year, when he came to bat at 57/4 in 7.2 overs. Now, he didn’t slow down or was restricted; he batted at a high strike rate, even when wickets fell from the other end, and ended with a strike rate of 155.88.
Similarly, he was sent with 6.3 overs left, and his role was to take on the speedsters with a couple of batters still to come. He played a terrific cameo of 27 and did his job. The same happened in the Asia Cup 2025 final, with 7.4 overs to go, and Dube again played a cameo by forming a prudent partnership with Tilak.
In short, his job has been to play impactful knocks with the bat rather than long innings. Then, he is not seen as a spin-hitter either, and the team’s efforts have been to put him in when the innings requires acceleration, but there are more batters to come. At times, they have also given him a solid base to enter and make an impact.
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Additionally, India have been smart with Dube’s bowling usage and pushed him to do the job. For instance, he was used in the middle and early death over phase earlier in the Asia Cup 2025. He bowled all four overs against Pakistan in the Super Four stage and three against Oman earlier.
It’s also about giving confidence and allowing him to do his thing, even when things go south at times. Look back at his 18th over against Pakistan in the Super Four: he conceded 17 runs; India again used him in the 19th over in the following game against Bangladesh. Sure, the match was sealed by then, but this showed two major things: the management was unfazed by a few hiccups and allowed Dube to gain experience at the same time, which eventually worked in the final, where he bowled two economical overs upfront before a slightly expensive but decent 11th set.
During CSK’s penultimate IPL 2025 fixture against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Shivam Dube came to bat at No.7, and they sent the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and even Ravichandran Ashwin ahead. Similarly, the likes of Sam Curran and Jadeja were promoted ahead in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) games earlier in the tournament. The plan was to shield MS Dhoni against spinners by keeping Dube near him, even if that delayed his entry points.
The move didn’t work, and Dube was able to score every time he had some cushion and a decent platform. His best knocks in the season – like 42 in Mullanpur and 50 in Mumbai – came when he had some balls and more batting cushion left. In Mullanpur, he arrived in the eighth over, and in the ninth over in Mumbai.
Even in the IPL 2023 final, CSK nailed Dube’s entry point by sending him in the seventh over, and he played a decent hand. He could have played a bit quicker, but that should be his ideal entry point. The southpaw has improved since then and churned out numerous impactful knocks for India with a set base since last year.
CSK should adopt a similar strategy and be flexible with Dube’s entry points. In 2025, they often delayed his introduction and threw him to hit, which won’t work. They can’t use Dube to protect Dhoni because that’s not his strength, at least now.
His bowling usage has been beyond terrible at CSK. Since 2023, he has bowled only twice in 44 IPL matches. That’s one of the reasons for his slow progress as a bowler.
If anything, the Asia Cup 2025 showed his bowling skills are more than handy, especially after recent improvements. He has the height and generates some decent bounce, while his fuller-length deliveries move a bit. These qualities were always there; CSK just didn’t care to use them.
Now, they must follow India’s template and use him smartly according to the match situation. To Dube’s credit, he is not limited to a particular phase, and the team can spread his overs in various parts. That doesn’t mean he is an all-phase pacer; it’s just that he has decent skills to remain effective if used wisely, and MS Dhoni is surely smart enough to understand when to bring him.
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