India men's cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir responded to the controversy surrounding Harshit Rana replacing Shivam Dube as concussion substitute in the fourth T20I. The change has led to widespread controversy as plenty former cricketers from both sides and captain Jos Buttler expressed his frustration on match referee Javagal Srinath approving the request. After the fifth T20I, Gambhir gave a hilarious reply to England cricketer-turned-commentator Kevin Pietersen.
"He (Dube) would have bowled four overs for sure today," Gambhir laughed while speaking to Star Sports.
Dube shines with ball
After making an impressive T20I debut as a concussion substitute taking three wickets for 33 runs, Rana was not included in the playing XI. Dube recovered from the concussion and performed with bat and ball.
Dube was introduced in the eighth over and he struck with the first delivery. He bowled it wide of Phil Salt who flashed his bat but only managed to get an outside edge and substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel completed a simple catch. In his next over, Dube got the wicket of Jacob Bethell on the first delivery. Bethell got bowled as he dragged the ball on to the stumps. Dube bowled two overs, conceded 11 runs and bagged a couple of wickets.
Dube working with bowling coach Morkel
After India bundled out England for 97 and won the fifth T20I by a huge margin of 150 runs, Dube was happy to contribute with the ball. He also revealed that he is working with bowling coach Morne Morkel on getting the angles right.
"It feels great when you contribute as an all-rounder for the team. I have been doing that since a long time, so I was really excited, I knew I was going to bowl. I gave the team what they wanted. The wicket was amazing for batting, but I enjoyed both (batting and bowling.) The wicket was good, so I tried to play my shots and went hard against their bowlers. I am working with our new coach - Morne Morkel, I am working on all the angles and that helped my today," Dube told the reporters after India's 4-1 series win.
The focus will now shift to the three-ODI series which is set to begin on February 6. It will be crucial for both teams ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2025.