Shivam Dube depicted his bowling improvement in the ongoing Ranji Trophy semifinal fixture between Vidarbha and Mumbai, taking five wickets for 49 runs to keep Mumbai in the game.
The drama unfolded during the fourth T20I between India and England last month when India replaced Shivam Dube with Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute in the second innings. That Rana went on to snare three wickets to help India win irked England, and Jos Buttler gave a frustrating comment.
“Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25mph with the ball, or Harshit has really improved his batting. It is not a like-for-like replacement,” exclaimed the English skipper after the defeat.
However, Dube depicted his bowling improvement in the ongoing Ranji Trophy semifinal fixture between Vidarbha and Mumbai, taking five wickets for 49 runs to keep Mumbai in the game. Following the day’s conclusion, the all-rounder emphasised the hard work behind increasing his pace, which has been noticeable throughout this game.
“I have noticed that earlier in red-ball games, I used to bowl in the mid-120s, but in this game, many of my balls have crossed the 130 kph mark. I was working on pace, and I always had the skill to pick wickets with the red ball, now, the additional pace has helped even more. I was working on my pace. I worked quite hard on my run-up and fitness,” stated Dube to The Indian Express.
India found Nitish Kumar Reddy as their latest all-rounder, who showed ample promise on his maiden Australia tour. However, he is injury-prone, so India would want to keep backups prepared, and Dube has thrown his hat in the ring with this magnificent five-wicket haul.
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Shardul Thakur is another option for the same role, but India haven’t considered him in any format in the previous few series. Dube has a fine First Class record, and consistent Ranji Trophy performances will surely make selectors notice him.
Dube has mostly been in India’s white-ball plans, but this management has fast-tracked players if they see potential. So, Dube is not completely out of the equation, especially since he offers value in both batting and bowling departments.
India’s next assignment in England will see a range of new changes, and Dube’s inclusion could be one of them, given he keeps working on honing his skills. That said, he has to compete with some solid players like Nitish and Shardul for that spot, which is a good headache for the selectors and team management.
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