IPL 2020: RCB was set to trade Shivam Dube before India selection changed things

Shivam Dube earned a maiden call-up to team India last week for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh. His heroics in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai worked in the all-rounder’s favour. Dube was delighted after being picked to play for India. However, even his IPL future was secured with the selection as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had almost traded him off ahead of the upcoming season.

The southpaw made his IPL debut earlier this year for the Virat Kohli-led RCB side. The franchise had picked him for a whopping amount of Rs 5 crore. But Shivam Dube couldn’t live up to the expectations which disappointed many. However, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season, he redeemed himself scoring 177 runs in five innings at a strike-rate of 146.28 and also picked five wickets in 8 matches.

He almost single-handedly won the match for Mumbai against Karnataka while chasing a score of more than 300 runs with a spectacular 118-run knock. This knock brought him back in the limelight and with Hardik Pandya injured, Shivam Dube was picked for India as the pace-bowling all-rounder for Bangladesh series.

North Indian IPL team was interested in Shivam Dube

If the reports in Mumbai Mirror are to be believed, a North Indian IPL side was interested in Shivam Dube. Even RCB was ready to trade him after a disappointing previous season. It has been learnt that the decision to trade the all-rounder was taken under the new set of coaches under Mike Hesson. Dube was picked by the previous staff headed by Gary Kirsten who were not retained by the franchise for the upcoming season.

Mirror also reported that Shivam Dube also entered the negotiations and asked for more amount than his auction. However, the talks fell through at the last moment. Bangalore franchise decided to call off the negotiations suddenly. It is also being understood that Dube’s knock against Karnataka changed everything. During his century, the left-hander smacked three sixes out of the ground to show his prowess.

The RCB didn’t respond to a message from Mirror but it has been confirmed that the trade was on the verge of being executed before things changed suddenly. For the upcoming season now, Shivam Dube will continue to feature for the RCB under Virat Kohli.

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