Sharing dressing rooms with Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers was very precious for me, says Shivam Dube

Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube’s career has seen an upward drive over the last one year. His dashing form in domestic cricket saw him getting picked by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2019. His hitting five consecutive sixes against left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh of Baroda in last year’s Ranji Trophy saw him bagging a Rs 5 crore contract with the RCB.

He though didn’t get to play more than four matches in the IPL 2019 in which scored only 40 runs and went wicketless. But Dube’s stars didn’t fade as he got his maiden India call-up for the three-T20I series against Bangladesh at home next month. And according to the 26-year-old, it is his sharing room with the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers that has transformed his approach to the game.

Dube recently came up with impressive shows for India ‘A’ against the West Indies ‘A’ and South Africa ‘A’. The Mumbai cricketer also scored a hundred against the just concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy against eventual champions Karnataka. And all these add up to his maiden call in the national side.

Dube expected the India call, to be honest

Speaking to Times of India, Dube said the call was not entirely unexpected. “Honestly, I expected the call-up. I have performed really well recently. Support from my coaches and family was there. It is all due to my domestic performances. I am always 100 percent ready. Give me any situation and position (to bat), I will go and perform,” he said in a tone of high self-confidence.

Dube scored 180 runs in the three-match unofficial Test series against the West Indies ‘A’ at an average of 60 in the Caribbeans, including two half-centuries. Then against SA ‘A’ at home, he slammed 155 runs in four innings.

“The RCB stint was a huge learning curve for me. I learn a lot more. You get to meet a number of players — international and domestic. You not just share the dressing room (with international players), you share your thoughts and knowledge as well. Those two months at RCB were very precious for me,” he told the Times.

Speaking about the India journey, Dube said it is to be a new one for him. He said he wants to enjoy it to the fullest. “I want to score as many runs for my team as possible. I want to emerge as a match winner for my team. I have worked a lot on my basics in the past few years and I want to make every bit count in the series,” Dube said.

Dube, who made his T20 debut in 2016 and first-class and List-A debuts a year later, has two first-class centuries and two five-wicket hauls. In List-A and T20 games, he has a strike-rate of 121-plus and 142-plus, respectively.

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