Team India are currently hosting Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series. This is India’s last T20I assignment before the T20 World Cup 2024, slated to be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to June 29.

With barely a few months left for the global T20 event, the IPL 2024 season becomes a crucial platform for players to fine-tune their skills and form.

India all-rounder Shivam Dube also acknowledged the importance of upcoming IPL in the preparation for the T20 World Cup 2024.

"It (IPL) would be equally important for all of us, as there are only two T20Is remaining. IPL is a big platform, and if you fare well in it, you get the chance to make it to the (national) team," Dube told reporters on the eve of the second T20I against Afghanistan in Indore.

"There is a team planning and combination in place. The more we play T20s, the more we get to understand it better."

On a personal front, Dube said he is focusing on the job at hand and not looking too far ahead in terms of making it to the Indian side for the T20 World Cup.

"Any player playing in the team aims to play in the World Cup. It's definitely in my mind to play the World Cup, but it's far away. Right now, I am aiming to play tomorrow's game and take it on a match-by-match basis.

"It was a good performance in the last game, and the aim would be to better it in the next game, contributing across departments and helping the side win," he added.

Shivam Dube earned the Player-of-the-Match in India’s six-wicket win over Afghanistan in the opening T20I in Mohali. The lanky all-rounder returned with the bowling figures of 1/9 in two overs before playing a match-winning knock of 60* in 40 balls.

Reflecting on his knock, which came when India were struggling at 28/2 in the chase of 159, Dube said: "It's difficult when things don't go your way, and you don't think about things you cannot do at that time. So, I thought about what I have done in the past would be better. I have practised and processed to be better both physically and mentally, besides working on my skills."

Dube hailed Afghanistan as a tough team in the shortest format of the game, with their players taking part in T20 leagues across the world.

"Afghanistan is a tough team when it comes to T20Is as all of its players play in (domestic T20) leagues. It's a good opportunity for the side to express itself in front of a top team (like India), and it has been doing well," he said.

"Afghanistan was not a top side in international cricket a few years back. But, thanks to these leagues its players have come out on top nowadays."

(With PTI Inputs)