India captain Suryakumar Yadav surprsingly handed the ball to Shivam Dube for the first over in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan. This call was taken after Hardik Pandya was ruled out from the final due to a quadriceps injury. Though many were expecting Suryakumar to go with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the opening over, he left many shocked by choosing Dube, who had just bowled 10 overs in the tournament before the final.
Dube's performance vs Pakistan
However, Dube ended up doing a fairly decent job and conceded just one boundary in the first over. Despite going wicket-less in his three-over spell, the 32-year-old only gave away 23 rund and proved to be rather economical.
Now Suryakumar has revealed why he trusted Dube to bowl the first over of such an important match. He stated that the hardwork that Dube put in to his bowling left him very impressed. He further remarked that he was aware of the all-rounder's ability and was confident that he can do a good job with the ball in the final.
“No, no, I don’t put pressure on anyone. You’re talking about expectations – I absolutely don’t put any pressure. Everyone has their own preparation; they know the conditions here, how they need to bowl. But he’s (Dube) been working really hard on his bowling. And because of that, he showed such confidence that I made him bowl in the Asia Cup final. I knew – I’ve been playing with him for seven-eight years – how capable he is. I saw that his preparation was really good," Suryakumar said in the pre-match press-conference.
“If your preparation is solid, if you’ve practiced well and there’s no doubt in your mind, then I think you’re very clear with your plans. And he is very clear with his plans. If he gets another opportunity tomorrow, why not? It’s a good team, and when you bowl well against a good team, it boosts your confidence even more," he added.
Dube included in squad for Australia T20Is
Dube has been picked in India's squad for the five-match T20I series against Australia and will be looking to bowl many more overs in the upcoming assignment. He finished the Asia Cup with seven wickets under his belt and may end up contributing quite a bit in the bowling department.
India’s squad for Australia T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.