IND vs AFG: 'Have The World Cup In My Mind' - Shivam Dube Opens Up On His Future Plans

Indian all-rounder Shivam Dube played the anchor role in the first IND vs AFG T20I match and helped the team win the match by six wickets. Dube played an unbeaten innings of 60 runs off 40 balls which included five fours and two sixes. The hosts didn’t start well in the match and lost skipper Rohit Sharma in the first over of the innings.

Shivam Dube while speaking at the pre-IND vs AFG 2nd T20I match press conference, stated that his dream is to play the T20 World Cup 2024 for India. Dube further added that he will look to do better for the team and also will plan to perform well and contribute to the team.

Shivam further spoke about the importance of IPL for selection in the Indian cricket team. Dube stated that the IPL is a big platform and if a player performs well there, they can get a chance to enter the Indian team.

Shivam Dube throws light on his future plans

Shivam Dube said, “I will only think of performing better for the team and will only think of performing well for the team. Definitely, the composition of the team and all these members belong to the team. The rest will understand the resume combination while playing T20 games, the rest will get the structural combination. Certainly, no player is thinking about a World Cup tournament for any country forever.

“Definitely in my mind, it is there to play World Cup but it’s still a far way away, it’s in June, so maybe now I’m looking for the match we’re playing tomorrow.”

“It is very important, these two matches which will happen right now are also very important and IPL will also be very important because it is a big platform, if you do well in it then you get a chance to come into the team.”

Shivam Dube has been a regular part of the Indian cricket team since the T20 World Cup 2022. Dube was part of the Indian team before as well but was excluded from the team due to his inconsistent performance. However, as soon as Dube was picked by Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, his performance improved and also became the medium for him to return to the Indian side.

Now, with just two T20I matches left for Team India ahead of the T20 World Cup, Shivam Dube has created a huge problem for the selectors, and they cannot neglect him while picking up the team for the T20 World Cup 2024. However, Shivam Dube can be a great replacement for Hardik Pandya if he is not available in the tournament due to his injury.

Getting back to the IND vs AFG T20I series, India are all set to take on the Afghani team in the second match at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on January 14.

India will now want to seal the T20I series in Indore whereas the visitors are hoping for a comeback. Afghanistan showcased a decent performance with the bat and was good with the ball at the start of the innings. However, the Indian team will once again be favorites to win the match.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck in the first T20I match due to a disastrous run out by Shubman Gill. However, Sharma was in decent form ahead of the series and will look forward to making a new start. Also, it will be great to see, in whose place the Indian batsman will come into the team as he makes a comeback after his unavailability in the first T20I.