IPL 2023: MS Dhoni Lauds Shivam Dube for His Clean Hitting

IPL 2023: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni showered rich praise on Shivam Dube saying that he has the talent to hit the ball cleanly and is a very good player of spin bowling. Dube was one of the architects of CSK’s famous win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing IPL 2023 on Monday, April 17. 

Like he did last year, Dube once again starred in the victory against RCB. Coming to bat at number 4, Dube played a sparkling knock of 52 runs in 27 balls. It included 5 sixes and 2 fours and a strike rate of 192. During his swashbuckling innings, Dube entertained the crowd with five maximums. One of them went for a distance of 111 meters.

CSK didn’t start well, losing their star opener Ruturaj Gaikwad early on, Ajinkya Rahane and Devon Conway stabilized the innings with a fifty-plus run stand. When Rahane got out, Dube came out to bat for CSK, with the stage set for him to go all out against RCB bowlers. Initially, Dube took his time and played calmly, rotating strikes and getting singles. In the following over, he smashed a fuller-length delivery for a 101m six, and he kicked on from that point. Dube took just 25 balls to get to his half-century. Albeit, shortly, his innings ended while getting caught at the boundary. Mohammed Siraj made no mistake to complete a brilliant catch in Wayne Parnell’s bowling. 

IPL 2023: Dhoni Impressed with Dube’s Six-Hitting Ability

Reviewing his team’s performance in the post-match presentation, Dhoni was asked about Shivam Dube by Sanjay Manjrekar, the CSK skipper responded by saying that Dube hits the ball cleanly and that’s why the team believes in him and backs him to deliver the goods with the bat.

“He [Shivam Dube] is someone who can hit very cleanly. He has an issue with the fast bowlers but he’s a clean hitter against the spinners. We had certain plans for him but once he arrived at our camp, he was injured. So we couldn’t do a lot of work. We feel that he’s somebody who can deliver and who can get those extra runs in the middle overs. He needs to believe in that more than us. We know he has the talent, but once you cross the boundary ropes into the field you are on your own,” said MS Dhoni.

As pointed out by Dhoni, Dube’s strength lies against spinners and not against pacers who generally bowl during the starting and closing stages of an inning. He struggles against the fast bowlers, especially when it is bowled near to his shoulders. The left-handed batter needs to work on his technique in order to be a complete batter.