Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has applauded Shivam Dube for his performance in the five-match T20I series against Australia, with the Indian team winning 2-1. The veteran also feels Dube’s performance with the ball was the biggest plus point and that it will be a major factor if Hardik Pandya suffers injury as well.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel ‘Irfan Pathan,’ he said: “We have seen some changes but there is a story in those. The strength of this team is the all-rounders. I’m focussing on all-rounders because Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel have been the biggest positives, especially Sundar as he’s not been a regular part of the T20I side. He got an opportunity and played a 49-run knock in Hobart. When he received an opportunity to bowl, he picked up three wickets. Shivam Dube has raised his stocks in bowling and it’s a huge factor for the Indian team, given Hardik Pandya’s injury that we saw in Asia Cup.”
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“The way Indian team is planning, it’s rational because they don’t want if Pandya becomes injured ahead of any big matches, they don’t have options of all-rounders. Dube is now a seam-bowling all-rounder option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is yet another option. Hardik Pandya is going to be the No.1 choice but what if he is injured? In that case, Dube has given the Indian team a massive confidence-booster,” he said.
“If we talk of Axar Patel, his innings in the World Cup final and the brisk partnership with Virat Kohli was crucial. Kohli was playing cautiously and he wanted to play until the end; hence, he wanted someone to play a brisk knock. Hence, we won that World Cup. He regularly plays well. If we look at this series, he played an excellent knock in the game at Gold Coast, the 21-run knock was crucial and it created a big difference between the two teams. He plays well in the middle order and lower middle-order, possessing the ability to hit boundaries. He also shown plenty of improvement in his bowling. So, the Indian team revolving around these three all-rounders is going according to the plan, which is why they’ve been experimenting a lot more. It is fair because you have plenty of options,” Pathan shared again.
He also raised concerns about Sanju Samson’s role in the T20I side moving forward but added how Jitesh Sharma played in the third game.
“The other factor the Indian team might be thinking is what will Sanju Samson’s spot in the eleven be going forward or whether there will be any. Jitesh Sharma played a good cameo when he got the chance. Sanju Samson is a top-order batter and it’s an age-old debate, so I’m talking from World Cup’s standpoint,” Irfan Pathan concluded.
