India and Bangladesh are playing the first T20I of the three-match series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi despite concerns of poor air quality and pollution. This is also the 1000th T20 international match to be played.
Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah won the toss and chose to bowl first on a good-looking Delhi surface. But it was a special day for Mumbai’s Shivam Dube, as the 26-year-old was handed his T20I cap by skipper Rohit Sharma before the start of the play and becomes the 82nd player to don the India cap in the format.
Rohit Sharma said at the toss, “This (series) gives us an opportunity to test out few players from the domestic circuit who have done well. It’s their best chance to grab the opportunity. We are trying to stick with the same combination that we have had in this part of the world. We have three spinners, two medium pacers and we have the debutant Shivam Dube who gives us the extra choice in the middle where he can bowl a few overs.”
He has hit five sixes in an over twice – in the Ranji Trophy and in the Mumbai Premier League. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2019 IPL. He recently hit a 57-ball 118 against Karnataka.
“If you see, in our earlier T20 team, we had Hardik Pandya. Then we tried Vijay Shankar. All of us, along with captain Rohit (Sharma), felt that for the role Shivam Dube fits in much better. He bats aggressively and his performances in the India ‘A’ series in West Indies and also against South Africa ‘A’ in the One-dayers was phenomenal. He has gone up by leaps and bounds with regards to his skill set and we are very much convinced about him,” national selector MSK Prasad said about him.
(The Indian Express inputs)
