'If I would have been the selector, I will be keeping close eye on him' - Irfan Pathan on Shivam Dube's chances in T20 World Cup squad

Former India cricketer Ifran Pathan spoke on Shivam Dube's selection in the Indian squad for the T20 WC set for June. Though CSK lost their last encounter against SRH in Hyderabad, Dube stood out with his sublime 45 off 24.

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports on Cricket Live Show, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan on the inclusion of Shivam Dube for India’s T20 World Cup Squad, said, “I would definitely select, if I would have been the selector, I will be keeping a close eye on him. And I would actually take him in the T20 World Cup squad because he's actually murdering the spinners.  He doesn't need to go out there and try to get set against spinners.

"And we have seen this in this IPL and the previous season as well, we have seen him against quality wrist spinners, against finger spinners.  And when you have a batter like that, why you don't want to take advantage of him?  Mind you, he's not a bad batter against fast bowlers as well. People forget that he comes from Mumbai. And in Mumbai, you'll see a lot of bounce as well.  So he's not as bad as well. Rightly, you know, when Yuvraj Singh said what he said.

"I'll definitely think he should be there. Because, who are the cricketers out there who can actually play in the middle overs, who can finish the game, who can actually literally finish the spinners? We have Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh. Who else is there, Rishabh Pant if he is fit enough to play. But Rishabh, if you bowl him outside the off-stump unless he uses the switch hit, there we have seen some restriction in his play.  So, who else is there? Shivam Dubey, I don't think so any other guy who comes even close when it comes to hitting and actually finishing and murdering the spinners.

Matthew Hayden spoke on Shivam Dube being the top watch in this IPL season for India’s T20 World Cup campaign, said, ”The conditions which don't bounce a lot. Now, I know the first game is going to be up in New York for India against Pakistan, but generally, power hitters who love to hit the ball in these sorts of ranges, they can really dominate in the Caribbean. So that's an exciting prospect, actually. And, we're talking about Indian selection with IPL and they go hand in hand because of the pressure, dovetailing, and performances together. Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan, their eyes light up when they see the possibility of the inclusion of Shivam Dube. I think it's an interesting call and a watch this space, certainly. And he's not doing it this season, he has done it last year as well. He has done it for a very long period of time. Last year also he was top class.

Irfan Pathan expressed his views on Pat Cummins and the leadership of Sunrisers Hyderabad, saying, "I still believe that as a bowler, just T20 bowler Pat Cummins is not that great. But as a leader for Sunrisers Hyderabad, he's been outstanding. He has never set the world on fire when it comes to T20 cricket, even for Australia. But what Sunrisers Hyderabad needed to do was to find a proper leader. Last year, I thought there were too many selectors in Sunrisers Hyderabad's camp.

"What happened, they didn't give that vision to particular players. But this season, looking at the games, looking at both home games as well, this time, they have a proper vision. They're actually going in one direction, which is very, very important for any franchise cricket, because there's a lot of pressure, as you rightly said, and the game goes very quickly. So you need to have a proper leader, and I think Pat Cummins is a wonderful leader.

"He had proper planning, even in games against the Mumbai Indians, there was proper planning to finish Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At the time where Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished, he brought himself in as well. Even today, winning the toss and chasing, this planning went really well. Because they had a temptation to bat first. Everyone was saying that because they did the same thing against Mumbai. But he didn't. He understood the pitch really well.

"He also made sure Jaydev Unadkat comes to bowl in the midway of the inning. Then he himself actually bowled into the pitch. He's telling other bowlers, without saying anything, 'come on, bowl like me or bowl into the pitch.' And everyone is pulling his lead as well. At the same time, the way he's actually giving free flow, and I've been hearing a lot of positive things from the youngsters of Sunrisers Hyderabad, that they all are much more relaxed this year. And that comes from the leadership group. Daniel Vettori and Pat Cummins are working well together for Sunrisers Hyderabad."

Matthew Hayden shared his thoughts on Abhishek Sharma, said, "One of the things as experts that we always find difficult is to understand what's the difference between aggregate average and strike rate and this is actually a clear indication of a good decision for a man of the match. Because someone getting into a short run chase and having a strike rate of 308 takes courage, commitment, and skills, and what else you can judge on. And the captaincy tonight from Pat was excellent and he had the resources as captain is only as good as his cattle and his cattle is of fast bowlers that have to pace off the ball and I think Pat was the bowling man of the match anyway."

Irfan Pathan spoke about Ruturaj Gaikwad's captaincy and on CSK's batting order, said," I said that in the Hindi commentary as well, that when Mukesh and Deepak Chahar were bowling with the new ball, actually their strength lies with the new ball. So it must be very tough for Ruturaj Gaikwad as well to get Maheesh Theekshana in attack. That temptation would have been there because of Travis Head. I would have actually pushed the same point that Matthew Hayden has said, that get Maheesh Theekshana to bowl. That maybe give a little breather to Mukesh and make him bowl at a later stage. To understand where the pressure is left because Mukesh's strength is with the new ball, and yes he hasn't played first-class cricket for literally for 15 months and that's a long time. 

The other thing, which I think, apart from Moeen Ali, Mahendra Singh Dhoni could have batted up the order just purely because of the match-up. Match-up against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Jaydev Unadkat. He has played well against both of them, especially in the later stage of the game. Plus, when Pat Cummins bowling into the pitch, it would have been easier for a right-hander to hit on the leg side with that angle in rather than against a left-hander because for the left-hander we saw that Ravindra Jadeja just couldn't get going and in the end that was the difference as well.

Matthew Hayden commented on Ruturaj Gaikwad's captaincy, said, "There were a couple of decisions which weren't quite sharp. When you think of Moeen Ali as an all-rounder, he ended up contributing nicely with the ball, but he should have been batted up the order. He should have been given a licence. They were lagging inside that power play. They were 1 for 49 in the power play. So to me, they needed an injection of some hope and some courage, and Moeen Ali could have provided that.

"With the ball, I think they probably could have bowled Theekshana straight away to Travis Head. It's a great match-up. Don't wait until the fourth over. He went for plenty of that second over. So for me, Theekshana straight up front against Travis Head could have been a better move. So some sharp action was needed, and I think it can never be easy with a cloud of MS Dhoni around you, and I'm not saying that's because of MS Dhoni. But it is what it is. He is Thala. So Ruturaj Gaikwad might be having that sort of pressure inside him, and maybe his reaction and decision-making process need to be just a little quicker and a little sharper."