IPL 2024: Irfan Pathan advocates for Shivam Dube's inclusion in T20 WC squad

New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan wants Shivam Dube in the T2O World Cup squad after the star Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter scored 45 in 24 deliveries against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday.

Dube thrilled everyone by hammering T, Natarajan for back-to-back sixes over the mid-wicket fence, though he was kept quiet by a change of pace from Cummins. Cummins bowled a slower bouncer well outside the off stump, forcing Dube to throw his hands at it and the batter gave a catch straight to backward point, falling for 45 off 24 balls.

“I would definitely select, if I would have been the selector, I will be keeping a close eye on him. And I would actually take him in T20 World Cup squad because he's actually murdering the spinners. He doesn't need to go out there and try to get set against spinners. And we have seen this in this IPL and previous season as well, we have seen him against quality wrist spinners, against finger spinners,” said Pathan to Star Sports.

“And when you have a batter like that, why you don't want to take advantage of him? Mind you, he's not a bad batter against fast bowlers as well. People forget that he comes from Mumbai. And in Mumbai, you'll see a lot of bounce as well,” he added.

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden empasized Dube being top watch in this IPL season for India’s T20 World Cup campaign, said, ”The conditions which don't bounce a lot. Now, I know the first game is going to be up in New York for India against Pakistan, but generally, power hitters who love to hit the ball in these sort of ranges, they can really dominate in the Caribbean. So that's an exciting prospect, actually. And, we're talking about Indian selection with IPL and they go hand in hand because of the pressure, dovetailing, performances together.”

On a black-soil pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, with slower deliveries gripping off the pitch when the ball got older, SRH did well to restrict CSK to 165/5. The seamers conceded just 38 runs in the last five overs, to stifle CSK’s run-flow. It was a phase in which the batters found it difficult to time their shots against the cutters, with Shivam Dube’s 45 being the top score by a CSK batter, including hitting two fours and four sixes. With no Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana in the eleven, CSK’s bowling bore a depleted look.

Head and Abhishek came out swinging to decide the result of the match in the Power-play itself, where they amassed 78/1. Eventually, SRH completed the chase in 18.1 overs to get consecutive wins at home, with Markram making a 36-ball fifty to give CSK their second successive defeat on the road.