Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra wants under-fire Shivam Dube to score runs against the USA in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The left-hander could only score three runs off nine balls against arch-rivals Pakistan in New York on Sunday.
Furthermore, Dube dropped Mohammad Rizwan’s catch when he was on seven at deep fine leg on the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah. Dube was trolled on social media after his poor performance against Pakistan. The pugnacious southpaw didn’t get to bat against Ireland in the opening clash.
Dube was in fantastic form in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings but veered off the track in the last phase of the tournament. The left-hander scored 396 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 162.29 in IPL 2024, with the help of three fifties.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Runs should come from Shivam Dube’s bat and decent runs. Two or three sixes should go into the stands because there is a role for him. A lot of people are trolling him currently. Forget the troll, think about the role.”
“Why did you pick him? You picked him so that when you reach the West Indies, and you will have the big grounds and turning pitches, like the Guyana ground, you will need someone who can hit sixes,” Chopra explained.
“Shivam Dube was your best choice at that point in time. We make a turnaround very quickly, We are even asking now for Yashasavi (Jaiswal) to open and Virat (Kohli) to be pushed down, and change everything. You shouldn’t do that. So Shivam Dube should score runs,” he added.
The renowned commentator wants Virat Kohli to score runs as the talisman has scored only five runs so far in the two matches. Rohit scored a fifty against Ireland but could only manage 13 runs against Pakistan.
“Runs should come from Kohli’s bat. Rohit (Sharma) has still scored runs in one match but (Virat) Kohli hasn’t scored runs, which will eventually be scored, I have no doubt about that in my mind. However, once the runs are scored, you get the rhythm back,” he said (3:55).
“So I am thinking that he should score runs just for rhythm. Otherwise, I am not worried about quality, pedigree and form at all, but he should score runs. So that’s one of the things on my wishlist,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
India will next take on the USA at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Wednesday.
