Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has put his weight behind Shivam Dube ahead of IPL 2027 auction. CSK haven’t been able to qualify for the playoffs in the last three seasons of the tournament but Ashwin reckons the franchise has failed collectively.
Meanwhile, Dube recently didn’t get a single game in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand as Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy were preferred ahead of him.
However, Dube has performed consistently for CSK over the years. The left-hander scored 270 runs in 12 innings of IPL 2026 at an average of 38.57 and a strike rate of 158.82. CSK could not qualify for the playoffs but Dube’s performance was one of the positives for the five-time champions.
Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “There is a reason Shivam Dube is being backed by the franchise and MS Dhoni himself. There are no powerful middle-order Indian left-handers other than him. No one has his power generation with that bat swing. Yes, he has areas where the bowlers can exploit. CSK fans seem to attach their losses to Dube. They must understand that the other players that took the field are just as responsible as him.”
He added, “His ability is unreal. Just as an example, say KKR give Rinku Singh for Shivam Dube, and Rinku fails next season without being able to read the Chepauk conditions. Then Rinku will face similar heat, and the cycle will go on. So when you are enjoying a player on their best days, you will also have to accept them on their ordinary and bad days.”
The former CSK spinner noted that Dube didn’t get the launchpad, as Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad didn’t give solid starts to the team.
“Most of the games were over when Dube came in to bat last season, and he was up against it. Samson and Gaikwad did not click as a pair, and Mhatre played only six matches. So Dube did not get the launchpad. Because of a collective failure, CSK could not use the ideal entry point for Dube and couldn’t give him clarity,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
IPL 2027 auction will be held in Goa in mid-December.
