Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra was shocked at the non-selection of Shivam Dube in the Indian T20I team for the series against the England National Cricket Team. He raised concerns over his omission, saying that the all-rounder is the World Cup winner.
The India National Cricket Team are all set to lock horns with the England National Cricket Team in the five-match T20I series, starting 22nd January. The BCCI recently released the squad for the series which will be captained by the Suryakumar Yadav.
Shivam Dube played a vital role in the team’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph
While most of the consistent players were retained in the squad, Dube’s name not being there raised many concerns. The all-rounder has been one of the key members behind the success of the team in the shortest format of the game. He also played a vital role in the team’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Hardik Pandya are the two all-rounders that are in the Indian team as the two seam-bowling all-rounders. Shivam Dube scored 133 runs at a strike rate of 114.65 in eight innings in the T20 World Cup 2024, and his omission raised a lot of speculations.
He was a member of the T20 World Cup-winning team – Aakash Chopra on Shivam Dube
Aakash Chopra pointed out Dube’s knock in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 and questioned his omission from the team. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-commentator said:
“What happened to Shivam Dube? I wanted to talk about Ruturaj (Gaikwad) as well but he is not able to make his place. Rajat Patidar is also there. Obviously, there is a lot of batting. However, now I am going to focus a little bit on Shivam Dube. He was a member of the T20 World Cup-winning team.
“When you win, everyone should get the credit. He even played decently in the final. Before that, there were definitely some questions that he wasn’t fielding or batting well. However, then he played well and became the T20 World Cup champion.”
No one is talking about him – Aakash Chopra on Shivam Dube
Aakash Chopra added that Dube disappeared from the horizon suddenly. He feels that the batter is worthy of playing for another one or two years. He explained:
“After that, he remained injured a little, didn’t get too many opportunities either, and is now out of the team. No one is talking about him as well. Riyan Parag is not being talked about because he is injured but no one is asking where Dube went. He suddenly disappeared from the horizon.
“If he was good enough to be a part of the World Cup squad, I am sure he would be worthy of playing for another one or two years. He has remained out because of injury, but there was a theory earlier that whoever goes out due to injury, will come back in first, and whoever replaced him would have to sit out no matter what he might have done.”