Hardik Pandya’s all-around abilities have made him a vital player for India. Although India has produced a few seam-bowling all-rounders recently, none of them have been able to establish themselves as Hardik Pandya’s reliable backup. But in his second tenure with the Indian team, Shivam Dube has impressed both experts and fans with his outstanding cricketing.
In the recently finished Twenty20 International (T20I) series between Afghanistan and India, Dube claimed two fifties in addition to a few wickets. For his performance, he was named Player of the Series. Given that Hardik is still recovering from his ankle injury sustained during the 2023 ODI World Cup, several members of the cricket community have speculated that Dube would be the starting pace-bowling all-rounder for the ‘Men in Blue’.
Aakash Chopra, however, proposed that India might enter the 2017 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies with both of the players on their roster.
“The force of Shivam Dube Ati Sundaram is speaking loudly. In the third match, I thought he was sent off a little too soon. As an attacker rather than a grafter, you may have sent Rinku Singh or Sanju Samson ahead of him. He makes me think of Yuvi, or Yuvraj Singh. Consequently, you should keep him a little lower on the list,” Chopra stated on his own YouTube account.
“His power was obvious from the way he smacked sixes in the first two matches. Some have even suggested that Dube should be chosen instead of Hardik Pandya.
I advise keeping both. These three matches show that Shivam Dube is a serious contender. The former India opener continued, “It will be the cherry on top if he performs well in the IPL.
With spin-friendly conditions anticipated for the T20 World Cup, Chopra discussed the significance of having strong players in the squad. Additionally, he noted that the grounds in the Caribbean can be large, thus having strength could be an added benefit for batters.
When asked about India’s wicketkeeper for the Twenty20 World Cup, Aakash Chopra said, “We haven’t got an answer to the question.”
Jitesh Sharma has received support from India in T20Is recently. Before being out for a duck in the second Twenty20 International against Afghanistan, he had played a brilliant knock of 31 off 20 balls in the first. His replacement for the third Twenty20 International, Sanju Samson, was out the first ball. Chopra was unsure of the potential first-choice wicketkeeper for India in the Twenty20 World Cup. Even the Indian team management, according to Chopra, is unsure of who will wear the wicketkeeping gloves during the major event.
“The question of who would be our keeper remains unanswered. The first two matches were played by Jitesh Sharma. Sanju Samson then participated in a match. According to Chopra, Jitesh batted effectively in the opening game, didn’t open his account in the second, and didn’t open his account in the third.
“If you were to ask me who would attend, I would honestly answer I have no idea. He concluded, “Jitesh hasn’t confirmed his spot, Sanju blew the one opportunity he had, Ishan Kishan hasn’t been able to participate in the race yet, and they didn’t choose KL Rahul.”
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