Dubai: The IPL’s Impact Player rule has all but put Shivam Dube’s bowling arm in cold storage during his stint with
Chennai Super Kings, with the all-rounder managing a meagre three overs across three seasons — a statistic that would make even the most occasional part-timer wince.
While Dube continues to bowl regularly for Mumbai in domestic cricket, his international bowling credentials were gathering dust on the sidelines. But winds of change are blowing through the Indian setup. Under the new regime of head coach
Gautam Gambhir and T20I captain
Suryakumar Yadav, Dube is finally being unleashed as a genuine bowling weapon — marking a dramatic shift in how the team views his dual capabilities.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! That intent was on display against UAE in Dubai on Wednesday, where the 32-year-old looked sprightly, bowled with accuracy, and returned figures of 3 for 4 — his best in international cricket since debuting in 2019. Dube stepped up as India’s sixth bowling option and, according to the team management, he will now be called upon to bowl an over or two in virtually every game. The early returns have been spectacular.
Across his last three T20Is, Dube has sent down four miserly overs, claimed five wickets, and maintained an economy rate of under four — numbers any frontline bowler would be proud of. The architect behind this bowling renaissance? India’s bowling coach, Morne Morkel.
“Morne has been working with me since I came back into the Indian team for the England series. He gave me specific advice, and I worked on it. He told me to bowl a line slightly outside off stump, helped me develop a slower delivery, and tweaked my run-up a bit. Because of those adjustments, my bowling has improved. My pace is up, and I’m getting good confidence in matches. The head coach and skipper told me my bowling would have a role to play,” Dube revealed after India’s nine-wicket win.
Dube was asked whether the IPL’s impact player rule hindered his progress as a bowler. He didn’t mince words. “The answer lies in your question itself. The role of an all-rounder has been reduced because of the rule. That’s why, 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,” he said.
It’s not only his bowling that Dube is focused on. He has been working on extending his range as a power-hitter. “For the last two months, I’ve worked a great deal on my fitness. With the bat, I know I have a role to play in the middle overs as a power-hitter. Over the years, bowlers have targeted me with short balls, so I’ve worked on increasing my range of shots,” he said.
Even though the UAE clash wasn’t an ideal test ahead of India’s game against Pakistan, Dube insisted the team never viewed it as just a warm-up. “Whenever we play for India, we don’t consider any match a warm-up. It’s a matter of pride to play for our country, so every game is important. As a team, it was really good that we played together after a long time,” he said.
As for comparisons with
Hardik Pandya, Dube was quick to play them down. “Hardik is like a brother. He has a lot of experience in international cricket and the IPL. I try to learn as much as I can from him — both about batting and bowling. I’ve never thought about comparisons,” he said.
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