Former Indian opening batter Virender Sehwag showered praise on Shivam Dube after India secured a six-wicket win against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday.
Dube returned with impressive figures of 2-33 in four overs he bowled and he was the pick of the Indian bowlers. The right-arm medium pacer accounted for Sahibzada Farhaz and Saim Ayub.
Sehwag noted that other Indian captains were not utilizing Dube properly, and Suryakumar Yadav has done a good job in getting the best out of the player. Earlier, Dube had returned with impressive figures of 3-4 in two overs he bowled against the UAE.
“The earlier captains weren’t using him. Suryakumar Yadav is using him as a bowler. This wicket also suits him. It doesn’t have the pace, so if he bowls cutters and slow, the batters find it slightly difficult to hit because they are used to using the pace. When the ball doesn’t come fast, you have to put in the power, and the Pakistan batters probably made mistakes there,” Virender Sehwag said on Sony Sports.
Sehwag said Dube brought India back into the game with Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav as Pakistan had scored 91-1 in the first 10 overs.
“He had picked up two wickets while conceding 15-odd runs in three overs. Along with him, Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav bowled an over apiece from the other end. They also bowled well. Only around 30 runs were scored in six overs, and two batters got out. So India made a comeback from there,” Sehwag observed.
On the other hand, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra hailed Shivam Dube for his impressive spell as Pakistan were going strongly.
“Shivam Dube needs to be praised because Pakistan were 91/1 at the 10-over mark and they reached 171, in which an extra fielder was within the circle in the 20th over, and a lot of runs were scored. Dube conceded 16 runs in three overs. He has limitations. He doesn’t have too much pace,” Chopra said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
India will next take on Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Wednesday.
