Dubai: Shivam Dube’s six-hitting prowess could help India pile up big totals in the upcoming T20 World Cup and he along with Yashasvi Jaiswal will be key to their hopes of winning the title, reckons the team’s former head coach Ravi Shastri.
Both Jaiswal and Dube are set to make their World Cup debut at the ICC event scheduled to be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1.
“The two gentlemen you’ve got to watch out for, and both are left-handers, both playing their first World Cup,” Shastri told ICC.
“Please watch out for (him), because he is explosive, he’s devastating and he’s a match-winner,” Shastri told the International Cricket Council website.
“He hits sixes for fun, and when it comes to spin bowling, he can kill you.”
Shastri said that while the left-handed batter is particularly effective against spinners he had nailed down his batting approach against pace.
“He’s understood the way to play and I think he holds the key at that number five-six position because if you’re in the doldrums, you want someone to change it in 20-25 balls, he’s the player to go to,” he added.
The strike rate of India’s top order, which includes skipper Rohit Sharma and stalwart Virat Kohli, has been something of a concern and a fiery middle-order could be crucial to India’s hopes of winning a second T20 World Cup title.
Shastri has high hopes for opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and said the presence of Dube in the middle order could help India post the big totals needed to win a major tournament.
“His strike rate, which will be close to 200 most of the time, will help India immensely in going forward, getting those 190s, 200s that are needed in big competitions, especially like the World Cup,” he added.
India will also be encouraged by Suryakumar Yadav’s form heading into the World Cup after his 51-ball hundred secured victory for the Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.
Suryakumar, the top-ranked batter in T20 internationals, is playing his first tournament since recovering from an ankle injury and a sports hernia operation.
