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Shivam Dube: The southpaw who masquerades fierce hitting capabilities
The months of March to May every year has a different breeze to it. The whole country prepares itself for the two-month cricket festival of Indian Premier League. However, Mumbai- the home of the God of Cricket was trending with a different buzz.
News of a 6-feet young teen hammering 5 successive sixes off the veteran leg-spinner Pravin Tambe was the talk of the town.
This is the very same Tambe, who deceived the best batsmen with his bowling in IPL. When the thick air of questions settled down, the name of Shivam Dube rose up.
However, getting here was not an easy journey for this 26-year-old. As a young kid, Dube was overweight. Despite his talent, Shivam faced questions over his fitness, leading him to quit the game for 5 years!!
From meat and a milk-loving obese kid to the Men in Blue, this is the journey of Shivam Dube…
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Shivam Dube |
| Age | 26 (as of 2020) |
| Sport Category | Cricket |
| Date of Birth | 26 June 1993 |
| Hometown | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Height | 6 ft |
| T 20 Debut | 3 November 2019 |
| Batting Style | Left-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm medium-fast |
| Teams Played for | India, Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| IPL Debut | 2019 |
India has always been blessed with gifted all-rounders. Be it Kapil Dev, Yuvraj Singh or Irfan Pathan; there was never a shortage of quality match winners. Then came the generation of the Pandya brothers who are now shouldering the responsibilities of all-rounders for the Indian cricket team.
(AFP)
Shivam Dube is the latest name in the list to don the blue Indian jersey. The southpaw is known for his fierce hitting and brisk pace bowling. Let’s take a closer look at this talented cricketer’s journey to the Indian team.
(CricTracker)
Born on June 26, 1993, the 6-feet Shivam Dube was always in awe of cricket. The 10-year old kid would receive throwdowns from the family’s domestic help. His hitting capabilities were too good to go unnoticed by his father.
Dube was adamant about letting off cricket from his radar. He took it very seriously, and so did his father, who was eager to see him make it big in cricket.
The very first place where Shivam proved his prowess is the school cricket team. And he didn’t disappoint.
His bowling, surprisingly not batting, won his school, Hansraj Morarji School, the U-15 Giles Shield in Mumbai. Indeed, that was the first glimpse of today’s Shivam Dube.
“He was a talented cricketer but a fat boy. His father, Rajesh, would come to our ground to ensure Shivam got his meat, fresh cow milk badam and pista! Shivam’s bowling won our school won U-14 Giles Shield one season, but lack of fitness and a back problem meant his cricketing career was hit.” fondly remembered Nilesh Bhosale, Shivam’s school coach.
One can see the determination of Shivam to actually make it big. From fat to fit, although there’s only a letter’s difference, the hard work and the sacrifices eradicate that difference are monumental for any athlete.
At the age of 14, Dube was forced to quit cricket. Not an ideal start right! Read ahead.
“I stopped playing cricket when I was 14 because of some financial constraints, couldn’t really work on my fitness at that point in time. I returned to cricket only when I was 19 and gradually started to work on my fitness levels,” Shivam Dube revealed about the tough times in an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times.
But all that matters is the character to leave behind the dark phases in search of light. Though Dube missed his precious 5 years of cricketing life, he made a comeback. And what a glorious one it was!
After missing out on various youth sides, it was Dube’s performances in club cricket with the Karnataka Sporting Club, Ghatkopar Jets and Thane Marathas in the Mitsui Shoji T20 League and MPL that caught Mumbai selectors eyes. Dube got his chance directly in the Mumbai U23 squad.
Shivam Dube debuted for Mumbai against Baroda in the Superleague group A match of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on 18 January 2016.
Although Mumbai lost the match, Dube was excellent at the end with his bat, contributing 21 runs from 17 balls.
In the next season, Dube had an average season scoring 65 runs in 4 matches with an average of 21.66. Playing in the toe end of the middle-order, it was more important for Dube to score fast, rather than score more runs and he obliged.
Shivam Dube made his List A (50-over) debut in the Group C Vijay Hazare for Mumbai against Rajasthan on 26 February 2017.
He didn’t get an opportunity to bat while chasing but grabbed two wickets while conceding 42 runs in 7 overs in a 38-over per side match.
Dube finished his debut season with 60 runs, with an average of 30 and strike rate of 113.20. His performance with the ball was more influential as he picked 7 wickets in 4 matches with the economy of 4.87 and average of 16.71.
Dube’s consistent performance in the Mumbai middle order helped him to maintain his importance in the squad.
While he remained getting little chances to perform with the bat, it was his medium-fast bowling that made the difference.
The following Vijay Hazare season, Dube picked 3 wickets in 5 matches while maintaining an economy of 5.12- the third-best in the team.
Dube had his break-out Vijay Hazare campaign in 2019. He got more opportunities to bat, scoring 177 runs in 5 innings, including his first century.
Dube scored 118 in just 67 balls at a strike rate of 176.11 against Karnataka on 10 October 2019 in a losing cause. Dube’s six-hitting ability made the news again as he hit 10 maximums.
The youngster made his first-class debut on 7 December 2017 in the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and the batting powerhouse Karnataka.
He was exceptional with the bowl as he took 5 crucial wickets in Karnataka’s first inning and made a notable contribution of 71 with his bat in the second innings.
The following Ranji season, wonderboy Dube continued to impress with his high strike rate as well as wicket-taking ability.
Dube finished the season as Mumbai’s second-highest run-getter with 632 runs in 8 matches. The all-rounder scored 2 centuries- 114 against Railways and 110 against Gujrat.
Shivam also picked 23 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 23.21. His best bowling figures in an innings came against Karnataka, as the youngster picked 7 wickets and conceded 53 runs in 28.4 overs.
Dube’s inspiring performances helped Mumbai to win Vijay Hazare 2018-19 while bringing the attention of Indian Premier League teams as well as the Indian selectors.
The Virat Kohli-led-Royal Challengers Bangalore bought ShiIplt20 websitevam Dube for a whopping 5 crore in the Indian Premier League 2019 season auction. It was his incredible hitting in the domestic circuit that caught RCB’s attention.
In fact, he had hammered Swapnil Singh for 5 consecutive sixes in an over just before the day of the auction.
However, Dube did not get many chances in his IPL debut season with RCB as the team finished at the bottom of the league table. Although Shivam played only four matches scoring 40 runs at an average of 10 and strike rate of 121.21, it provided a much-needed impetus to his career.
MSK Prasad, Indian National team’s Chief selector, mentions Shivam Dube as the best fit in the team in the absence of Hardik Pandya, the regular all-rounder. And the main factor of Dube over Vijay Shankar was his recent performances in India A series in the West Indies.
His performances in the one-dayers against South Africa helped him to earn the spot as well. MSK Prasad went on to say that Dube has come up by leaps and bounds.
Dube came in the T20I squad for Bangladesh tour of India. He played his first T20I against Bangladesh on November 3, 2019.
The debut was not that impressive. However, Dube proved his calibre in the third T20I of the series. He picked three quick and crucial wickets helping India win the series decider.
In the third T20 against the West Indies, Dube scored 54 in 30 balls as he was promoted to number 3 by Virat Kohli.
Shivam Dube is now one of the strong contenders in the Indian squad for the ICC 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia.
Shivam Dube has played a single ODI for the Men in Blue. He made his ODI debut on 15 December 2019 in the first ODI against the West Indies at Chennai.
However, he had a debut to forget! After scoring 9 runs in 6 balls to help India post 287, Dube was expensive with the ball.
He conceded 68 runs in 7.5 overs and failed to pick a wicket. India lost, and Dube was subsequently dropped from the next two ODIs.
With Hardik Pandya still walking back to full fitness, Dube was named in the ODI squad against Australia.
Shivam Dube is yet to be called up for his first Test match. He has been named in India A squad for 2 test matches against New Zealand A from 24 January 2020.
A good performance in the series will see him move up in the pecking order for tests.
| Format | M | Inn | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | BF | SR | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI2019– | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 9.0 | 6 | 6 | 150.0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I2019– | 8 | 4 | 2 | 64 | 54 | 32.0 | 42 | 30 | 152.4 | 0 | 1 |
| Format | M | Inn | B | Mdn | Runs | W | BB | Econ | Avg | SR | 4W | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI2019– | 1 | 1 | 47 | 0 | 68 | 0 | 0/68 | 8.68 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| T20I2019– | 8 | 6 | 75 | 0 | 114 | 3 | 3/30 | 9.12 | 38.0 | 25.0 | 0 | 0 |
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