Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav has always looked to bowl the maximum overs with Shivam Dube to keep his sixth bowling option ready for adverse occasions; however, the pacer has been extremely uneconomical throughout this T20 World Cup. Former South African legend Faf du Plessis has also cited him as India's weakest link.
India claimed a massive victory over Zimbabwe in their second Group stage game of the Super-8s. However, the win could have been over a margin of 100 runs had Captain Suryakumar Yadav not experimented with Shivam Dube, keeping Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah's quota of overs unfinished.
Seemingly, Shivam Dube was India's weakest performer, as he gave away 46 runs in his two overs and picked a wicket. An economy of 23 under circumstances when Zimbabwe were chasing a massive 257 run target proved that he is just not India's go-to man on flat pitches.
After having beaten Zimbabwe and South Africa and having beaten the West Indies at the other end, the upcoming game against the West Indies will be a do-or-die game for India. Either of the two teams winning would make their way straight into the semi-finals.
India, from now on, would only be up against the toughest of oppositions, which includes West Indies in the final Super-8 clash, and probably New Zealand or England if they are through to the semis. This clearly means that they have to deck out with all resources.
Former South African captain Faf du Plessis pointed out that Shivam Dube, as the sixth bowling option, is the weakest link for India. Any day if the frontline Indian bowlers get thrashed, Suryakumar would not be left with much option but to try him.
"100 percent. So, you look at it, and you go, who are the danger bowlers? Most of the times, it is [Jasprit] Bumrah. But, on that day, you make a call and go, I can get on top of someone here today; the sixth bowling option is going to come up, and it's going to bowl wide yorkers to us. They can line him [Dube] up," Faf du Plessis said to ESPNCricinfo.
"You have options. But, on a flat pitch, there will be challenges" - Anil Kumble
Indian legend Anil Kumble partially agreed and disagreed with Faf du Plessis' statement. He was happy to see that Suryakumar has kept his options open, trying almost every batter in the team with the ball in some match or the other; however, he also admitted that this can be costly on flat pitches.
"They did all the right things to get batters to bowl a bit through the previous T20 World Cup to now. If you look at the 18 months where they have won [almost] every single game, they ensured that Tilak Varma got to bowl, Abhishek Sharma got to bowl, Dube got to bowl, then even Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav bowled. In that sense, you have options. But, on a flat pitch, there will be challenges," said Kumble.
However, he contradicted Faf du Plessis on the Dube issue, claiming that India would still want to go with eight batters and five bowlers, as batting stability is their biggest concern.
Shivam Dube's T20 World Cup stats in 2026
Shivam Dube came into the World Cup as one of India's most promising options with the ball, especially during the middle overs. After some considerable success in the Asia Cup and the T20I series in between, Dube has tried to make himself a better bowler and has tried several variations as well.
However, the lanky Mumbai seam-bowling all-rounder has compromised the basics in an attempt to try the extraordinary and has been taken for runs by all opposition. So far in this World Cup, he has bowled 9.2 overs in 4 innings and has claimed 5 wickets at a whopping average of 24.80 and economy of 13.28.
His best bowling figures came against the Netherlands, where he took 2/35 in his three overs; however, in the last two games, he has given away 78 runs in his four overs and taken 2 wickets combined.
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