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In the second Twenty20 International of the current
Afghanistan series, all-round player Shivam Dube continued his unrestricted
scoring streak, and Team India led by Rohit Sharma easily defeated the Rashid
Khan-less team once more on Sunday. In the T20I series decider at Holkar
Cricket Stadium in Indore, the team led by Virat Kohli amassed a six-wicket
lead thanks to half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dube. After the game,
veteran Indian cricketer Rohan Gavaskar praised Dube for being undefeated at 63
off 32 balls.
Superstar Hardik Pandya’s absence has made Dube
India’s starting all-arounder. Since neither of the Mumbai Indians (MI) players
was available for selection when India released their team for the Afghanistan
series, Pandya and Surykaumar Yadav, India’s acting captains, are recovering
from their injuries. Dube has improved his standing after his all-around
performance in the first two matches, earning a spot back in the white-ball
squad for India’s last T20I before the T20 World Cup.
Speaking to Cricbuzz about Dube’s recent performances,
former Indian cricketer Gavaskar opined that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star
has given the Indian think tank some selection headaches in the World Cup year.
“We have been talking about him as, ‘Oh, listen, what if Hardik is
unfit?’, I think what he is doing is making sure that even if Hardik is fit, he
is on that plane in that World Cup squad. If you put in performances like this,
it is very hard for anyone to drop you. It is going to be a really tough
decision for the selectors if they decide to drop him. He is doing all that he
can, which is giving the selectors a headache,” Gavaskar said.
In India’s six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the
first Twenty20 International at Mohali, all-rounder Dube struck 60 off 40
balls. Due of his valour at the time, Dube was chosen Player of the Match. Dube
scored his second consecutive half-century in the second Twenty20
International, giving India an unbeatable 2-0 lead over the visiting team. In
the same game, Dube became the seventh player from India to both take a wicket
and reach a half-century. He has now joined Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli on the
elite list.