The ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is heading towards its last stage and with it, the T20 World Cup 2024 countdown has also started. The mega tournament will commence on June 2 and is all set to be hosted by the USA and the West Indies. On April 30, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad led by Rohit Sharma. Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has praised Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube as the key players for the Indian team in the upcoming tournament.
Ravi Shastri on Yashasvi Jaiswal
Ravi Shastri praised Jaiswal and highlighted his exploits is the recently concluded Test series against England. He said Jaiswal provide that explosiveness on the top order with his fearless style of cricket
"The two gentlemen you've got to watch out for, and both are left-handers, both playing their first World Cup. One is (Yashasvi) Jaiswal. We know a lot about him, he did extremely well against England, explosive at the top of the order, left-hander, he's young, he's fearless and he'll play shots," Ravi Shastri told ICC.
Yashasvi Jaiswal had a spectacular run in the Test series against England. However, he couldn’t carry his Test form into IPL. He returned to run-scoring ways with a spectacular century against the Mumbai Indians (MI). Jaiswal has scored 316 runs in 10 matches with a good strike rate of 157.21.
Ravi Shastri on Shivam Dube
The former Indian cricketer highlighted Shivam Dube’s batting and called him a ‘match-winner’ for the Indian team. Ravi Shastri also praised Shivam Dube for his batting against fast bowling.
"But there's someone in the middle order, please watch out for, because he (Shivam Dube) is explosive, he's devastating and he's a match-winner. He hits sixes for fun, and when it comes to spin bowling, he can kill you. He'll park a few balls out of Long Island into the small island, he's that kind of a player. He hits it big, he hits it long, and like I said, against spin, he could kill you," said Shastri.
"Even against the fast bowlers, he's worked out his game, he's understood the way to play and I think he holds the key at that number five, number six position because if you're on the doldrums, you want someone to change it in 20-25 balls, he's the player to go to," Shastri added.
Shivam Dube has earned his T20 World Cup spot extraordinary power-hitting in the 2023 and 2024 IPL seasons. He was also part of the Indian squad in the home series against Afghanistan where he smashed two back-to-back fifties. The all-rounder has been a game-changer for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the middle overs.
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