Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has picked Shivam Dube’s bowling as one of the major concerns for India after their 72-run win against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Thursday. Dube conceded 46 runs in the two overs he bowled and accounted for Tashinga Musekiwa.
Dube could not get his line right as he bowled four wides and also bowled two no-balls. The medium pacer had also conceded 32 runs in two overs against South Africa in the previous game.
Chopra said Dube has no bowling confidence whatsoever right now.
“Shivam Dube has conceded 113 runs in seven overs in the last three games. He conceded 46 runs in two overs in this game, 32 runs in two overs in the previous game, and 35 runs in three overs in the game before that. The problem is that he is needed to bowl because he is the sixth bowler,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator said Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma’s bowling is not going to work, whereas Dube is an expensive option as a sixth bowler.
“Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma’s bowling is not going to work here. So Shivam Dube being so expensive as the sixth bowler is a problem. That means no one can have a bad day because you want only five bowlers to be used. If you need a sixth, Shivam Dube has no confidence whatsoever right now,” he added.
Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy returned with figures of 1-35 in his quota of four overs against Zimbabwe after he had an expensive outing against South Africa. Chopra noted this was the second consecutive game when Varun looked a bit ineffective.
“This was the second consecutive game in which Varun Chakaravarthy looked slightly ineffective, against South Africa and in this match. The length looked slightly short both times. The balls which used to hit the stumps weren’t hitting this time,” he said.
The renowned commentator questioned Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy for not giving Chakravarthy his full quota of overs when he was bowling well.
“You didn’t bowl him his entire quota of overs many times, and didn’t play him in one or two T20Is as well. Are we regretting? The guy’s form has wavered a little. We were either saving him or not giving him chances. Is it coming back to bite us? It’s a problem,” Chopra observed.
India will take on the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Sunday.
