Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has showered praise on Shivam Dube after India defeated Pakistan by 19 runs to win gold medal at the Asian Games on Saturday. Dube scored a crucial knock of 27 runs off just 15 balls to help India post 211 runs on the board in the summit clash.
The left-hander took the attack against the Pakistan spinners and smashed two fours and as many sixes. The southpaw added 62 runs off 30 balls with Tilak Varma, who went on to score an unbeaten knock of 51 runs off 22 balls.
Furthermore, Dube returned with decent figures of 2-33 in three overs he bowled and accounted for Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub.
Aakash Chopra said on Cricinfo, “I think he doesn’t get enough credit. He’s got an exceptional skill and quality to hit sixes. He takes down spinners for fun. He also allows team to now plan accordingly as far as their batting resources are concerned. Something that India did throughout the 2026 World Cup-winning campaign.
“If there is a period where spinners are likely to dominate, you throw him in and he’ll take them apart. And to do that in big games, finals, World Cup finals, it takes some doing. It is exceptional and he should be applauded a little more,” the former India batter elaborated.
On the other hand, Chopra praised Tilak Varma for scoring an impressive knock against Pakistan. Varma scored three fours and four sixes in his splendid fifty.
Chopra concluded, “He [Varma] is getting the knack of getting the better of Pakistan. Asia Cup comes to your mind. Tricky run chase, he was there till the end. Guided the team home on a slightly tough pitch. Here, he didn’t really start with a bang. I think there was a period where India didn’t really get a boundary. Then he exploded and took the team to a total which was eventually defendable.”
India will next take on the West Indies in a five-match T20I series, starting Tuesday.
