CHENNAI: Daryl Mitchell had just holed out in the deep after his first fifty of the IPL this season. Chennai Super Kings are up against arguably the most destructive batting line-up—Sunrisers Hyderabad—and the scoreboard read 126/2 in 13.3 overs. The yellow team is generally at home in Chepauk, but SRH has constantly made teams second guess.
In walks Shivam Dube. Short strides, willow shifting from one hand to another while checking his batswing. And the 36,000-strong crowd in the stands acknowledged. They reserved the second-biggest cheer for the left-hander (the loudest cheer was for MS Dhoni, who would walk in later).
Dube, at that point, had 311 runs in eight innings with a strike rate close to 170. He has built a reputation for himself as the most destructive middle-order six-hitter among the Indians in the league. Such has been his impact that his name has been trending for all the good reasons. Will he make it to the T20 World Cup? Can he do the same for India in the United States and the West Indies?
The issue, however, is that he has been playing only as an impact substitute and hasn’t bowled at all. That said, he was the top run-scorer when India played three T20Is against Afghanistan in January and bowled seven overs. And with the increasing concern over the form of Hardik Pandya, is there any scope for the selectors to consider Dube as a backup? It is not an argument one can dismiss.
However, more than the bowling and fielding bit, the biggest question of all is how much does IPL performances count in international cricket and what is the gap in assessing a batter. For starters, in a league like the IPL, every team will have at least one or two weak links. A bowler batters target, and more often than not, it’s the uncapped players who face the brunt.
If one has to break down Dube’s runs based on that regard, here is how it looks. Against all capped international bowlers, Dube has faced 177 deliveries (until Sunday) and scored 296 runs at 167.2 SR. Uncapped domestic bowlers have gone for 54 runs in 26 balls at 207.69 SR. While there is a clear indication of dominance over domestic bowlers, a SR of 167.2 in the middle-order cannot be ignored.
While Dube has been prominently used as a spin basher, teams know that and they plan accordingly. They have consciously avoided bowling spin to him as much as they can. In the three games before Sunday (two against Lucknow Super Giants and one against Mumbai Indians) Dube got to face all of five deliveries from spinners. That, however, hasn’t affected Dube at all. He held his own, stood tall and smashed 135 runs in 73 balls across three innings.
Sunday, too, was expected to be the same as SRH had just one spinner in the ranks. Dube was welcomed by a yorker from Jaydev Unadkat and he dug it out for a single. Two overs later, Pat Cummins delivered another one at 140.3KPH and Dube kept him out. He did the same against T Natarajan too in the 17th over, with the score reading four from seven balls. There was no panic. As with any good player, Dube knew his limitations more than his strengths and he did not stop there, he has tried to minimise it as much as possible.
The moment Natarajan missed the yorker by an inch it went sailing into the midwicket stands. Chepauk, once again, was on its feet, chanting his name. Two balls later, another yorker fell as a wide full toss and this time, it went over the covers. Watching this all, Cummins resorted to slower delivery which Dube smacked into the sight screen. Cummins missed the yorker again, and it was bludgeoned over midwicket.
His plan is pretty simple. Knock it down for a single when the bowler hits the mark and any sign of imperfection, pounce on it. That is what Dube had done so far and he continued to do the same on Sunday as well. That he has struck at 172.1 against pace and 173.6 versus spin this season is a clear indication of how much he has upskilled and has married his intent with consistency.
Another six off Natarajan came in the final over, as Dube and Dhoni ran off the field with CSK putting up 212/3 in 20 overs. The score next to Dube’s name read 39 runs from 20 balls. Strike rate 195. Dube has done everything he can. Now, it is up to the selectors to decide whether they want him on that plane to the United States.
