How MS Dhoni’s CSK created Shivam Dube, the ‘Aaru-Saami’, who powered India’s Asia Cup triumph against Pakistan | Cricket News

Two years later, Dube is undoubtedly a monster in T20s, one who strengthens an already powerful India’s batting with his muscle. It was his six-hitting capabilities, particularly against spinners, that gave him a second wind with India and made him part of the team that won the T20 World Cup last year. In the T20 World Cup final last year, apart from Virat Kohli and Axar Patel, his 16-ball 27 was instrumental in India ending up with a par score.

And when the selectors met to pick the squad for the Asia Cup with an eye on next year’s T20 World Cup at home, now there were more reasons to pick him ahead of the likes of Shreyas Iyer. Despite not having a good IPL because of injury, Dube fit perfectly in coach Gautam Gambhir’s plans: A batsman who can be used as a floater anywhere, one with rightful intent and more importantly can also bowl if the need arises. And then there was one other factor that everyone from the team management to the selectors acknowledged – Dube isn’t fazed by occasion or pressure and has a temperament to back his extraordinary six-hitting capabilities which also takes conditions out of equation.

The trait that made Gambhir tell Suryakumar ahead of the Asia Cup final that Dube can be trusted to bowl with the new ball in the absence of Hardik Pandya, and when even Jasprit Bumrah went for runs, Dube came through in style.

At CSK, where Dube the T20 batsman had a rebirth, the role clarity did wonders for him. Not the best against pacers, CSK knew they had to be smart when it came to determining Dube’s entry point to the middle. It invariably happened to be the phase where the spinners operated and Dube would end up having a feast. But there was something more important that he had to sort out – his batting against pacers. Opposition teams, having got a wind of Dube’s strengths, were now using pacers against him and this is where the left-hander has evolved. Having grown in confidence, at CSK nets, Dube would spend hours with Mike Hussey developing his game against pacers. From being a batsman who ducked or got into uncomfortable positions at short deliveries and bouncers, over the last two seasons in the IPL, Dube has shown enough evidence that he can take down pacers, including the likes of Mitchell Starc as well.

“Got to give a lot of credit to Dube for working tirelessly against the short ball, an area he needed to improve on,” Hussey said last year. “Hats off to him, and he is playing with confidence now. He is also dangerous against the spin. As the teams bowled short balls at him a few years ago, he would only duck and defend. Now, not only can he play the short ones, but he is also able to find boundaries, forcing them to try something new,” he added.

On Sunday, in the Asia Cup final, when Dube walked in after the fall of Sanju Samson in the 13th over, India needed a lot from him. Prior to the final, he didn’t have much to show with the bat. Against Bangladesh, he was sent in at No 3 to take care of the match-up against spinners, but Dube made only 2. Against Pakistan, he had to play a different role, one that he isn’t accustomed to at IPL. But India’s think-tank knew Dube was the best throw of the dice when Pakistan were taking control of the game with their spinners in the middle of an incredible squeezing act. Mike Hesson, their head coach, has seen what Dube is capable of against spinners in the IPL. So a message flew from the dressing room and on came pacer Haris Rauf, who was greeted with a boundary first ball by Dube. It is the shot that got Dube going, who was involved in a potentially costly mix-up the previous over.

With Rauf conceding 17, Pakistan would turn to Abrar Ahmed, whose first delivery would be deposited over mid-wicket with Dube’s extra-ordinary reach. When Rauf was in the middle of an economical over, Dube would then rely on his other asset – the power, by doing deep in the crease and hitting the low full-toss over mid-wicket. In the next over, when Faheem Ashraf dropped in a cutter, outside off, he again used the muscle-power to find a boundary in the same region before holing out centimetres inside the long-on boundary. On a pitch where batsmen from both teams struggled to maintain a healthy strike-rate, Dube scored at 150, with his 22-ball 33 clearly fitting the role defined to him. The ‘Aaru-Saami’ walked off, content in the knowledge that he had done his utmost to put India on the brink of a special win.