When you think of perfection, what could be the one work of art that transports you into the realms of an imaginary world? Maybe it is Sergei Rachmaninoff’s compositions. Closer to home, it could be Virat Kohli pinching singles and twos right under the noses of the fielders. Here we are, poring through the works of some of the best in their respective fields. There is another school of thought, where athletes with perhaps not the same kind of abilities exceed certain expectations and fulfil their potential.
Shivam Dube is one of those who comes under the second category. For starters, he still has a fair amount of ability to play a sport at the highest level. Dube wields the willow like an axe to crunch sixes, especially while facing spin. In the recent past, he has also been extracting some awkward bounce with the ball. Yet, the day he walks into retirement, he would not necessarily go down in the history books as one of the finest all-rounders. That said, under the current Indian coaching staff, he has carved a niche for himself.
Take into consideration Dube’s pyrotechnics in the fourth T20I against New Zealand in Vizag. He ended up smashing as many as seven sixes, but there was a method behind the madness – and that template was based on match-ups. As soon as Hardik Pandya fell to Mitchell Santner, the backroom staff decided to send in Dube so that he could take advantage of favourable match-ups. He repaid the faith shown in him as he thwacked Santner for a six and Ish Sodhi for three hits over the boundary rope in the ninth and 12th overs of the innings.
The plan was simple and there was clarity in execution – clear the front leg and target the midwicket region, or use his reach to deposit the ball over the straight boundaries. After the game, Dube had this to say about the backing he has received from the coaching staff, alongside developing his batting smarts.
“I’m getting better with my mindset because I’m playing all those matches now,” he said at the press conference after India’s 50-run defeat. “I know what’s going to happen and what the main thing is that the bowler is going to come at me with.
“I’m bowling thanks to Gauti bhai and Surya; they’ve given me the bowling opportunity. When you bowl, you become a little smarter. That experience has come to me and it’s going in the right direction.
“There are many things people upgrade; all players do. Teams upgrade themselves too. For me, it’s very important. I can’t be the same as I was before. I try to be a little better, a little smarter in the next game I play.
“I’ve learned how to understand my strengths and where I can target them. It’s about match-ups. They want me to hit spinners – that’s my role, to keep the strike-rate high in the middle overs. But I try to do that against fast bowlers as well. I know where my strength lies and how I can put pressure on the opposition. My mindset is very clear there.”
Although Dube did not bowl on the day, that is also an area where he has upgraded his skill set. He is using his well-built 6’4” frame to the fullest extent by generating extra bounce. Simply put, he is snapping his back hard. Who can forget Dube getting one to climb awkwardly on none other than Tim David in Australia – and that too at 122 kph? It should not really come as a surprise that since the beginning of the 2025 Asia Cup, Dube has bagged 13 wickets at an average of just over 20. In addition, his batting strike-rate stands at an impressive 177.23.
Be it his key contribution with the willow in the Asia Cup final or his wickets at timely intervals, here is one cricketer who has metamorphosed into a fine utility player. The cricketer from Mumbai has certainly come of age.
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