India all-rounder Shivam Dube will have the opportunity to show his diverse skilset in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Chennai Super Kings shrug off the bowling cobwebs, picking up two wickets in the warm-up game against Bangladesh in New York. Having gotten the chance to bowl just a single over, the all-rounder has confirmed that Team India's management may have other plans to deploy the all-rounder. Dube affirmed that he has been given the alert that his bowling could be called into action. "Rahul bhai and Rohit bhai have told me that I might get to bowl 2-3 overs at any point," said Dube to Star Sports.
In particular, Dube specified that the team seniors had backed his bowling ability during India's T20I series against Afghanistan, in January, as the team wanted to explore his potential as an all-rounder.
However, due to the Impact Player rule, Dube did not get much chance to hone his all-round skills during IPL 2024.
"I got to bowl only one over in IPL but it turned out to be a positive as I got the wicket in that over. I was working hard in the nets because I knew which aspect I needed to work on," said Dube.
The 30-year-old's explosiveness with bat in hand saw him score 369 runs at a strike-rate of 162.29 in the recently-concluded IPL. His form at the start of the IPL season guaranteed his spot in the India setup for the T20 World Cup.
Now, his bowling skills may shape up to be an added bonus, as it gives India the flexibility to play an extra batsman. Dube's inclusion in the playing XI might see Axar Patel drop out.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma had revealed that it was his decision to select four spinners in the Indian squad, with the slow tracks in the West Indies seemingly in his mind. Dube's handy off-spin would give Rohit further variety to his bowling arsenal.
India enter the T20 World Cup as one of the favourites, and kick off their tournament on June 5 against Ireland.