Shivam Dube did not need long to remind everyone he is, in fact, an all-rounder. Two overs, three wickets, four runs conceded – all in India’s straightforward Asia Cup victory over the UAE on Wednesday. It was his best return with the ball for the national side and, tellingly, it came only a few months after another domestic season in which he was barely asked to bowl at all.
Since the Impact Player rule landed in IPL 2023, Dube’s bowling has been nudged to the periphery. The numbers are stark: 3 overs, 1 wicket, 47 runs across three entire campaigns. Chennai Super Kings see him first as a left-hand power-hitter; the tactical substitution option has made it too easy to park his medium-pace until an emergency. For the player, it has been a source of quiet frustration but also fresh motivation.
“The captain and the coach told me earlier itself that I will bowl [at the Asia Cup] and that they are confident about me,” Dube explained at the post-match press conference. “My bowling coach [Morne Morkel] has told me a lot of things. I was preparing for this for a long time, that I will get an opportunity to bowl and when it comes, I’ll be ready. What happened today is because of that preparation.”
For Suryakumar Yadav, leading India in a second-string competition, the temptation to spread the workload was obvious. Yet when he turned to Dube, the seam-up deliveries came out tidily: one nipped away to take Asif Khan’s edge, another jagged back at Dhruv Parashar, the slower ball drew a miscued swipe from Junaid Siddique. Simple, uncomplicated bowling – but planned.
“At the England series [in January-February], he told me a few things,” Dube said of Morkel. “He told me to bowl from outside [wider of the crease] and to bowl slower [from a certain angle] … He told me a few things about my bowling run-up too. Because of those two-three things, my bowling is getting better. My pace is also improving and I am getting confidence.”
Morkel, who joined India’s back-room staff last winter, enjoys the project. Speaking earlier in the week he praised Dube’s work-rate, insisting the left-hander “could handle the heat at any stage of the innings”. Privately, coaches say his height and natural bounce make him more than a part-timer, provided he trusts his body.
Dube has heard the doubts, accepts them even, but maintains he never stopped seeing himself as a bowler. “The scheme of an all-rounder has been reduced,” he said when quizzed on the Impact Player rule. “Because of that, in the IPL, there wasn’t a necessity for me to bowl. But, from my side, I was always prepared. Every match, I was ready to bowl. I was working really hard before the IPL also. I spent two months working on my fitness and bowling.”
That groundwork is chiefly invisible to the TV audience. Away from the bright lights he has clocked up endless overs in training at Chepauk, mixing yorker routines with slower-ball variations. He credits CSK’s coaching group for allowing him the net time, even if game time never materialised.
There is, of course, the batting. Between IPL 2025 and now, he carved out regular 60-minute stints with the dog-thrower at his local Mumbai academy, aiming to expand his scoring zones against spin. Coaches noticed an improved ability to access third man when bowlers used the short ball – something he rarely attempted two years ago. The combined upgrades present national selectors with a tidy package for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Today, though, the story was the ball. Former India seamer Ajit Agarkar, now chair of selectors, watched from the stands and offered a measured endorsement afterwards. “He’s not suddenly Glen McGrath,” Agarkar told Star Sports, “but three for four in an international still says plenty about temperament.”
Statistics echo the sentiment. In his first eight T20Is, Dube’s economy rate hovered near ten; since working with Morkel it sits at 7.1. Small sample sizes, yes, yet there is direction.
“Our coach has said something that has always been in my heart and mind: that whenever you go on the ground, whenever you represent your country, you have a chance to do something big for the country,” Dube recalled. Those words echo around his recent training logs, scribbled alongside new-ball lengths and slower-ball grips.
The next fortnight brings stiffer opposition – Pakistan, then Sri Lanka if India progress – and the management are cautious. Dube is unlikely to shoulder four overs every night, particularly with Hardik Pandya pencilled in to return. Still, Yadav knows he now possesses another genuine option.
“Whoever I’m playing, I want to do a miracle on the ground so that I can make my country proud,” Dube said, half-smile creeping through his beard. On this evidence, the miracles may well come with the ball as often as the bat.
