The Sports Desk
Dube sparkles with ball and bat, India trounce UAE in Asia Cup opener
“I would like to make my country proud by delivering what I do, whether I’m playing or not.“Playing for your country is a different thing and if you are doing well, you feel proud,” said Shivam Dube after starring in India’s crushing win over UAE.
Since the IPL of 2023, Dube hasn’t been able to get as many allround opportunities due to the Impact Player rule, which has severely curtailed opportunities for the players to display their batsmen and bowling skills. In the last three IPL seasons, Dube has gone at 3-0-47-1 with the ball.
But that restriction has only hardened Dube’s determination to chip in with the ball as much as possible and constantly improve his game. He has worked really hard on his fitness, especially bowling.
On Wednesday, India did not intend to use Dube as a bowler initially but Suryakumar Yadav handed him the ball and Dube made an impact, taking three wickets in two overs. He castled Asif Khan with a seam-up delivery, nailed Dhruv Parashar with a nip-backer and made Junaid Siddique slog one to mid-on with a back-of-a-length slower ball.
“The captain and the coach have told me before that in the Asia Cup you will bowl and they have trust in me,” said Dube after the match. “I must mention my bowling coach (Morne Morkel) he helped me a lot. I’ve been getting ready for a long time, and I was ready when the moment came. “Everything we do has been thought about in training and that’s why we are giving this performance today.”
Dube is more of a power-hitter during his time with his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) IPL side and has worked on his bowling while he is not playing for his IPL side. “Allrounder in the IPL has been reduced with the Impact Player rule in place. But I was always prepared. I was doing fitness and had bowling sessions for two months prior to IPL,” he further said.
Morkel has been instrumental in working out with Dube’s bowling action and mindset. They have fine-tuned her run-up, release and pace which has contributed heavily to Dube’s confidence.
Dube has also been fine-tuning his batting from IPL 2025 to the Asia Cup, especially short-pitched bowling. The addition of “few new shots and my fitness has improved, to the extent that I can bowl four overs or whatever the team needs,” he said.
His inclusion against UAE was in line with India’s game plan in which they are trying to bat deep till No. 8, so it made Dube’s bowling all the more crucial. He also thanked Hardik Pandya for guiding him, in batting and the seamers, and not making him feel the urge to draw comparisons.
And he continued to be respectful of UAE: “As an opposition I cannot comment on quality of the opponents. I will never underestimate anyone. Yes, our spinners (Kuldeep and Varun) are mystery bowlers, even I find it difficult to face them at times in the nets.”
On the next game, Pakistan, that’s coming up, Dube looked ahead focused: “Whether it’s UAE or Pakistan that I am playing, when I step on the ground for my team, I’d like to do something big and would want to make my country proud. Gautam Gambhir sir says this thing every time and I carry that thing in my heart.”
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