Ahead of T20 World Cup selection Shivam Dube opens up on spending sleepless nights
All-rounder Shivam Dube instantly shot to prominence in the Indian T20 World Cup squad after a brilliant season with the five-time IPL champion Chennai Super Kings. Having made his debut for Indian cricket team in November 2019, Dube has participated in 21 T20 Internationals. On Tuesday, the BCCI selected the team for the T20 World Cup, ushering in a new phase in the 30-year-old’s already bright career.
Shivam Dube has amassed three half-centuries in the current IPL 2024, putting on an amazing display with his big-hitting en route to 350 runs at an average of 58.33 and a strike-rate of 172.41. Dube is a handy bowler with military medium pace who can cause breakthroughs, but the Impact Player rule hasn’t given him the opportunity to roll over yet.
Dube said he couldn’t sleep because he was always worrying about getting picked. The CSK all-rounder discussed what captain Rohit Sharma said to him during the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan earlier this year in January in a video that the BCCI released. The interview took place prior to the announcement of India’s squad of fifteen. It seemed as though Rohit sensed Dube would definitely make it to the final 15.
Dube said, “There are a lot. I cannot sleep thinking about it. When I came for the Afghanistan series, Rohit bhai told me ‘bowling bhi daalega, batting bhi milega tere ko. You just have to show what you are capable of. So that is what I was focussing of because if the captain tells you that they want to see you perform, it motivates you. When I was playing, all I was thinking about was how I could perform better and help my team.”