Shivam Dube was uncomfortable in Virat Kohli's RCB - AB de Villiers' revelation stuns cricketing world

Legendary South African cricketer AB de Villiers made a stunning revelation about Shivam Dube following his batting heroics in the IPL 2024. AB de Villiers mentioned that Shivam Dube had never felt comfortable while playing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Shivam Dube commenced his IPL journey in 2019 with RCB after being acquired for Rs 5 crore. However, his performance was underwhelming, and he managed only 169 runs in 15 matches, leading to his transfer to the Rajasthan Royals for the 2021 IPL season.

Dube’s fortunes didn’t improve significantly despite joining the Rajasthan Royals. The southpaw scored 230 runs in nine matches at an average of 28.75 and a disappointing strike rate of 119.17. Consequently, the all-rounder was released once more by the franchise.

After being picked by MS Dhoni’s CSK in the 2022 mega auction, Dube experienced a remarkable turnaround in his career. He amassed 289 runs at an impressive strike rate of 156.22 in that season. He scored 418 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 158 in the IPL 2023.

Fantastic To See Shivam Dube Like This – AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers, who once shared a dressing room with Shivam Dube, mentioned the left-handed batter’s transformation under the leadership of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming. De Villiers praised CSK for nurturing players to perform at their best.

“It’s fantastic to see Shivam like this. He never really broke free in the RCB changing room. He was quite a shy guy, worked really hard, and asked a lot of questions back in the day. I think he did a bit of learning there but never felt comfortable,” de Villiers said on Jio Cinema.

“He talks about being free in CSK, and that is the magic recipe that MSD, Gaikwad, Stephen Fleming, and all the guys from the past have set up over there. It’s a workhorse of a franchise that just makes it work every time, every single season, with new players who feel free to express themselves,” he added.

Shivam Dube has started the ongoing season impressively, earning the Player of the Match award for his batting display against the Gujarat Titans. Nevertheless, his path to success was marked by challenges, as he faced difficult times in the league before joining CSK.

Got To Give A Lot Of Credit To Shivam Dube – Mike Hussey

Mike Hussey credited Shivam Dube’s dedication to overcoming his weakness against short-pitched deliveries. Hussey noted that Dube’s proficiency in scoring boundaries against spin has transformed him into a more formidable player on the field.

“Got to give a lot of credit to Dube for working tirelessly against the short ball, an area he needed to improve on. Hats off to him, and he is playing with confidence now. He is also dangerous against the spin. As the teams bowled short balls at him a few years ago, he would only duck and defend. Now, not only he can play the short ones, but he is also able to find boundaries.”

Shivam Dube will be next seen in action when the Chennai Super Kings take on the Delhi Capitals in their next match at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, March 31.

Also read: Shivam Dube shocked to see Ruturaj Gaikwad replacing MS Dhoni as CSK captain; had thought this instead…