On social media platforms, just do a simple search to gauge fans’ opinions on Shivam Dube’s bowling. You might end up getting the following results – Right-arm nothing, dibbly-dobbly bowler and certain abuses that aren’t worth mentioning here. To a certain extent, the criticism is valid. The all-rounder has just five wickets to his name in 79 IPL games. And in T20Is, he has taken 16 in 36 matches; three of which came against the UAE in India’s opening fixture of the 2025 Asia Cup.
So, what could we tell of the three wickets that he took while facing an unfancied opponent? One of the thoughts could be to not take it seriously as it came against a lowly opponent. But once again pore through his short spells, and it can be observed that Dube was extracting a hint of nip and bounce. His bowling speeds too were up.
Granted that he will face far better opponents in the near future. It is also a fact that there was a hint of grass cover at the Dubai International Stadium. But Dube has the attributes to bowl better than what he has done so far in his career. For starters, he is 6’4″ and well-built. Secondly, he stands tall at the crease, with his release point being quite high. In the UAE-India game, he also seemed to be snapping his back more. The wicket of Asif Khan illustrates the hypothesis where he didn’t just extract a hint of movement but also found more bounce.
Probably, Morne Morkel, the bowling coach of the Indian team, told him to put more energy behind the ball? And it has to be said that Morkel was a potent hit-the-deck bowler during his time. So, who better than Morkel to motivate Dube and get him to snap his back a little more?
Of course, one has to reiterate the fact that Dube would face bigger challenges while bowling to batters who are adept at tackling the hard length. But from India’s perspective, it was a positive sign that the 6’4″ cricketer is trying to upgrade his bowling skills.
The larger picture is India have a small chink at the No. 7 or 8 slot in T20Is, where they are eyeing a seam-bowling all-rounder who can land the big shots in the slog overs. And Dube seems to be the one who has been given the responsibility of providing heft to an innings in the slog, alongside bowling a few overs of seam.