Shubham Dubey has spent most of his career waiting for the phone to ring. On Tuesday in Mullanpur, Rajasthan Royals asked him to walk in at No. 6, with 72 still needed from 36 balls to end Punjab Kings’ perfect start. The left-hander answered in style, belting 31 off 12 and sharing 77 in 32 with Donovan Ferreira to seal the chase with five deliveries spare.
“I know the focus is a lot on Vaibhav [Sooryavanshi], and I know why, because he’s an incredible player, amazing to watch. But at the same time, when I look at my side and I run through my batters, there’s Vaibhav, Dhruv [Jurel], Yash [Yashasvi Jaiswal], Riyan [Parag], Donovan Ferreira, Dubey, Jadeja, and Shanaka today – they’re all top players,” Kumar Sangakkara said afterwards.
“I thought Dubey today, coming in as an impact [player] – it’s one of the hardest things to do, because you don’t know if you’re playing. So mentally, he is exceptionally skilful to be able to keep that focus and go and bring the game to us. He went in at a tough position. Don [Ferreira] today was outstanding. Riyan’s small innings [29 in 16 balls] was exactly what we needed to bring the momentum back over here. So it was a collective effort.”
Hard numbers back the coach up. Since the start of IPL 2024 Dubey has faced just 156 balls, yet his strike-rate sits above 170. That is the currency that keeps him on auction lists despite a top score of only 43. Royals first paid INR 5.8 crore for the Vidarbha batter, released him after four low-key outings, then quietly bought him back for INR 80 lakh. A season-and-a-half later, they look shrewd.
Road less travelled
Dubey, 31, does not have the junior-India pedigree many team-mates boast. His break came through the Bapuna Cup in Nagpur. A rapid 221 runs at 187.28 in the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy nudged scouts. Friends say he treats every knock as another trial; the numbers suggest they are right.
“It’s a very difficult role and I think a lot of Indian players get stuck in that role. [And] when they don’t get those runs, it becomes a very difficult position to actually, even for a team management, to support this particular player, and say, ‘okay, this is the guy that we’ve backed’,” Abhinav Mukund told ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut. “A lot of teams have the conviction to do that. Some teams don’t. And I always pity these guys who have only ten balls and they have to get about 25-30 runs.
“I always felt that Rajasthan have backed Shubham Dubey, which is a very good thing. I’m glad he’s come good. Even the Lucknow game, his contribution was immense, the reason they got to 160 [159]. It was Shubham Dubey and Jadeja’s partnership [49* in 25 balls]. I think Shubham should be a starter or if”
Mukund’s sentence drifted off, but the sentiment was clear: players who specialise in the last five overs rarely get a long rope. Royals have tied one for Dubey and, twice in three nights, he has tugged them to safety.
Why it worked
PBKS missed Arshdeep Singh through illness and had no genuine death specialist beyond Kagiso Rabada. Dubey picked the lengths early, targeting anything below knee-height. Only three deliveries beat the in-field; everything else went flat through midwicket or over extra cover – still his two safest zones.
Of the 19 balls he has faced at the death this season, ten have disappeared for fours or sixes. That mix of bat-speed and calculated risk intrigues analysts. He rarely pre-meditates the scoop or reverse. Instead, he holds deep in the crease, waiting for a fraction of width. When it is not offered, he shuffles across to access the leg side. Simple, repeatable, and so far enough.
Next steps
Whether this burst wins Dubey a starting berth when Royals are at full strength is another matter. Ravindra Jadeja and Dasun Shanaka, both finishers by trade, still need overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s form, or lack of it, may open an extra middle-order spot but that is guesswork. For now Dubey occupies the substitute’s bib, headphones on, shadow-batting a role he may or may not be asked to perform.
It remains, as Sangakkara put it, “one of the hardest things to do”. Dubey has just made it look a little easier.
