Meeting Virat Kohli was a different experience altogether: Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube made his first-class debut back in December 2017, but he came to the limelight after the inaugural edition of the Mumbai T20 tournament at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where he smacked leg-break bowler Pravin Tambe for five sixes in a row. The 25-year-old also turned out to be a vital cog in Mumbai’s setup in the 2018-19 edition of the Ranji Trophy.

The left-handed batsman amassed 632 runs in eight matches with three half-centuries and a couple of centuries. Moreover, the Mumbai-born all-rounder notched 23 wickets with best figures of 7/53 against Karnataka in Belgavi. Shivam is currently plying his trade in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament where he has played only two games against Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh respectively.

Recently, he was also picked to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was drafted in a whopping price of INR 5 crore from a base price of INR 20 lakhs. Quite expectantly, he is working out of his skins to perform as per expectations. Dube also oozed confidence and wished to keep calm while unleashing his skills to muscle the leather.

You will see the same Shivam

“I have been working hard for the IPL 2019 season. I have attended some rigorous training sessions. The RCB coaching staff has helped me a lot. I am in pretty decent form and want to carry the momentum into the IPL as well,” Dube was quoted as saying in an exclusive interview with The Times of India (TOI).

“You will see the same Shivam who performed in the Ranji Trophy. I am 100 percent ready. RCB fans are going to enjoy my sixes, the way they did in Ranji Trophy. I always believe in keeping my calm. I have great patience. This helps me while batting. I don’t take any bowler lightly. I believe in dominating the bowler before he dominates me,” he remarked.

It was a different experience

Playing for the Challengers means that Shivam will have the chance of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Virat Kohli, the RCB captain, who has been with the team ever since the inaugural edition back in 2008. Dube once met Kohli during an Indian net session and he’s looking forward to taking valuable tips from the 30-year-old run-machine from Delhi.

“I met Virat bhai during the net session of the Indian team. It was a different experience altogether. I took some batting tips from him. I am really excited to share the dressing room with the Indian batting legend (Kohli) and De Villiers. Not just batting tips, I am looking forward to learning his (Kohli’s) fitness mantra and discipline also,” he added.

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