Shivam Dube Confident Of Making A Comeback In The Indian Team

When the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Mumbai seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube, a lot was expected from the hard-hitting southpaw given the fact that he was coming off a rich vein of form in domestic cricket.

But Shivam Dube, who was picked up for Rs 5 Crore by RCB, could not emulate his domestic performances for the Virat Kohli-led franchise. In 15 games that Shivam Dube played across two seasons for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the southpaw managed a mere 168 runs at an average of 16.90 and a disappointing strike rate of 122.46.

Dube was subsequently released by RCB ahead of the IPL 2021 mini-auction where was picked up by Rajasthan Royals. Shivam Dube recently recalled his experience at RCB stating that he would have liked to bat higher up the order.

‘’Definitely I would have liked to have batted higher up the order at No.4 or No.5 for RCB. But it is something that the captain and management decide according to what is better for the team. I didn’t have a bad season (IPL 2020) since it was not easy to consistently hit 2-3 sixes at the death and I was also bowling in the middle-overs. Releasing me was the choice of the franchise and I am okay with whatever they decided. I have the satisfaction that whenever I was called upon to bowl or bat, I did well for RCB,” Shivam Dube told Sportskeeda.

Shivam Dube further added that while Team India already has Hardik Pandya as the premier seam-bowling all-rounder, it will be better served if they have one more all-rounder in their ranks.

He reckoned that he is working hard on his game and he is confident of making a comeback to the Indian team in the future.

‘’You have Hardik Pandya, but you need to have one more all-rounder in the Indian team because getting a seaming all-rounder is always a difficult job. My job is to keep on performing and knocking on the door of the selectors. You see other countries playing 2-3 all-rounders because they always change the course of the game. I definitely feel I will be a part of the future Indian team. Playing more all-rounders will increase India’s chances of winning.” said Shivam Dube.