India all-rounder Shivam Dube opened up about the advice he received from MS Dhoni, which helped improve his game drastically. Early in his career, he struggled with the short ball, but some advice from ‘Captain Cool’ resulted in a complete turnaround to become the prolific all-rounder he is today.
Speaking in a post-match interview with former India cricketer Parthiv Patel on Star Sports, Dube talked about how the Chennai Super Kings’ legend, Dhoni, made a suggestion that changed his perspective altogether. When struggling with a particular delivery, there is a perception that you would only conquer it if you are able to hit it for a six.
The all-rounder admitted that he did work on facing the short ball during his off-season to get to where he is today.
“There was a time when I came to IPL, I was struggling a bit against short balls, at that time I was not able to hit them so cleanly, but then I realized that if I have to dominate at this level and I have that power, then why should I lag because of one thing, so I worked a lot on that thing during the off season,” Dube said.
“Mahi bhai had told me that it is not necessary that you have to hit a six on that ball, you can hit a boundary or take a single, so that thing was always in my mind that when I come in at the start,” he added.
Dube and Dhoni have shared the CSK dressing room since 2022, and the relationship continues to be strong even today. While Dhoni’s playing days might be coming to an end soon, Dube seems to be hitting new highs as India’s all-rounder.
DUBE HITS FORM BEFORE SUPER 8s
On Wednesday, February 19, he put up a starring role in India’s 17-run win over the Netherlands to give them four wins in four ahead of the Super 8s in the T20 World Cup. He went on to win the Player of the Match award for scoring a blistering 31-ball 66 and taking two wickets as well.
With form on Dube’s side, India will consider themselves lucky to have a player of his calibre as we go into the Super 8s, where the Men in Blue have their task cut out to defend their T20 World Cup crown.
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