Shivam Dube played a key role with the ball in India’s emphatic nine-wicket victory over the UAE at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday (September 10).
The all-rounder returned with the figures of 3/4 in two overs, helping the defending champions bowl out the hosts for only 57 in 13.1 overs.
In reply, the defending champions gunned down a rather small target inside the powerplay (4.3 overs). Opener Abhishek Sharma played a quick-fire knock of 30 runs in 16 balls, while vice-captain Shubman Gill finished the job with 20* off 9 balls.
After the game, Dube addressed a press conference, where he spoke about the kind of role played by bowling coach Morne Morkel in his improvement as a seam bowler.
"Morne has been working with me since I came back into the Indian team for the England series. He has given me certain specific advice and I worked on them," Dube told reporters.
"He told me to bowl a line that is slightly outside the off-stump. He also worked with me in developing a slower delivery and tweaked my run-up a bit. The head coach and the skipper had told me that my bowling will have a role to play."
In the aftermath of the IPL 2025 season, Dube got two months of time to work extensively on his all-round game as well as fitness.
"For the last two months, I have worked a great deal on my fitness. As far as my batting is concerned, I know I have a role to play (as a power-hitter) in the middle overs. I know over the years, bowlers targetted me with short balls and I have worked on increasing my range of shots.
"As tournament progresses, wicket will get slower and I know my slower (ball) will be effective and I also know how to bat in middle overs," he said.
Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav stole the show with a four-wicket haul (4/7), while his spin partners Varun Chakaravarthy (1/4) and Axar Patel (1/13) also played their part to perfection.
When asked if UAE batters were clueless when it came to reading Kuldeep and Varun from their hands, Dube replied: "I won't be able to tell that but also I can't be saying that about opposition team. It doesn't look good. All I can say is that mystery bowlers are very difficult to pick. Even I fail to pick Varun and Kuldeep while batting against them in the nets."
As a seam bowling all-rounder, Dube at times is pitted against Hardik Pandya but he made it clear that there is no competition between them.
"Hardik is like a brother from whom I tend to learn a lot as he has way more experience both in IPL and international cricket compared to me. Comparison, I never thought of, as my only endeavour is to learn as much as I can from his vast experience," Dube said.
India’s next group-stage match is scheduled against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on September 14. Shivam Dube played down the hype surrounding the high-voltage clash.
"Whether I am playing against UAE or Pakistan, I try to follow what my coach Gauti bhai (Gambhir) tells me. When you play for India, you have got a chance to do some great things for the country."
(With PTI Inputs)
