T20 World Cup 2024 – India sixer Shivam Dube awaits his release

Dube is someone who likes to hit sixes when he practices. He trains other parts of his game, but he absolutely loves hitting the distance. Sometimes his training with CSK is about hitting sixes as soon as he feels good. It would not have happened in New York when India – and other teams – practiced in a small facility that could only accommodate nets. It just kept raining in Florida.

You can expect Dube to be a very happy person to get out of New York, and the USA, into more reliable arenas and better training facilities. He is not. When asked how easy or difficult it is, and how important it is to get rid of memories of New York before moving on to better hits, Dube said he would not do such a thing. “I will not remove this from my memory because this is my first World Cup. Why should I?”

Enjoying such situations is not what six batsmen do. They got here because of their six hits. They know that hitting six is ​​impossible because the ball’s bounce, speed and direction after the ball is thrown are all unpredictable. So you survived, yes, you interacted with them, but did you enjoy it?

“I will never doubt what I did before,” said Dube. “What I see is that these conditions do not require what I did in CSK. These conditions require a different game. So I was batting in a different way.”

The fact that Dube relished the challenge, trying to find a way to win games for India, tells you that he wants to outscore six batsmen. When he watches it on the nets, the air he breathes always suggests that he will score a thumbs up. Then he acts according to football. It’s like his batting is only about doing something else once the chance to hit a six has been removed. And until now you have found yourself in a situation where you have to hit your arrow to clear the field. You can’t afford even a little mishit. Dube is happy that he did his job without hitting these six.

Dube’s arrival in the West Indies did not open the floodgates. The nets courts at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados had both a seam and a swing – and then there was the added embellishment of a passing shower, which made them very smelly. Dube did not choose to hit the distance, instead he spent more time bowling than batting.

One day during this World Cup all this opposition will open up a stadium worth 200. It could be on the big ground at Kensington Oval, which already holds 200 points. It could be in St Lucia. , the field with the most goals in the tournament. Or the last time. Be it against the spinners of Afghanistan or against the various quicks of Bangladesh.

It is for these reasons that India really needs Dube. Although what he did while chasing USA must have strengthened the team’s knee with his quality, India has batsmen who can chase middling. Along with his teammates, Dube had two training sessions at the Kensington Oval perhaps reliving the muscle memory, if any, of the USA.

Now that change has to happen quickly because there is no time in T20s. However, the skill is not just hitting that way but knowing when to do it. Suryakumar Yadav says that the captain and management trust the middle order batsmen to know what pace to target. Dube will have a response from two of the most experienced batsmen in international cricket to fall back on, but, especially if he bats first, India will rely heavily on his instincts to inform their intentions.

Whatever the situation in the Super Eight, it is unlikely that Dube will wait 60 balls to get the next six. India may still need a few more from him.