Star India all-rounder Shivam Dube picked IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer as his best buddy in the Indian team. Dube featured in the Indian team that beat Afghanistan 3-0 in the recently concluded T20I series as well. While Shivam Dube also named Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, he picked Shreyas Iyer because the two have played a lot of cricket together
for Mumbai at the domestic level as well. Notably, Shreyas won the IPL as captain with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2024 as well.
“Shreyas. There are even Abhishek and Ishan. But I am taking Shreyas’ name because I have played a lot with him. We have been playing together since 2018 and have played a lot together for Mumbai as well. We have a good friendship. I also go out with him for dinner and stuff,” he said in an exclusive interview with SportsNext.
“I have not seen a talent like him. His future is bright. Yes, he is not getting an opportunity right now because both the openers have scored a lot of runs in many series over the years. But he will certainly get chances ahead and do well. He is like a kid in the dressing room, just as you see him. He keeps having fun like a small kid, and we keep telling him to grow up,” he again shared.
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Shivam Dube also commented on Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s nature. While he agreed that Gambhir was serious on the field, and for the right reasons, he added that the head coach was funnier off the field.
“When you are on the ground, he is serious. He always tells us to give our 100% on the ground. He does not like fun and jokes on the field. He tells us to enjoy the game but play to win. After that, he has a lot of fun. He is more funny off the field than he is serious on the ground,” he said. “You will see one side of him on the screen because that is what he is on the ground. But during the game, there is pressure, be it the coach or the player, everyone will be tense. You have to stay focused. He stays very focused at that time.”
However, Shivam Dube chose between star Indian players as captain. He picked Rohit Sharma over Virat Kohli. He then picked Rohit over Suryakumar Yadav and named Rohit over Shreyas Iyer as well. Dube picked Rohit if it was for India and Dhoni if it was in the IPL as well.
“Rohit also has that quality. He knows what to talk to a player about, how to talk and what the player needs. When I am playing for India, it is Rohit. When I am playing in the IPL, it is Dhoni,” Shivam Dube concluded. “Archer. Bumrah and Archer are the toughest. But I have faced Bumrah less. I am lucky that I face him less because he is in my team. I have played less against him.”
