IPL 2022: With Shivam Dube CSK again show how to get the best out of players

This is the kind of impact Dhoni has on the youngsters, says former Mumbai coach.

One of the hallmarks of Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) success has been the number of players who have come to the franchise and found their mojo. Even in the midst of their depressing start this season, another positive story is emerging: that of Shivam Dube.

Shivam Dube of the Chennai Superkings plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2022 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.(PTI)

Since 2019, the towering all-rounder has been trying to find his feet in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with limited success. He has all the makings of a T20 specialist: a massive build and ability to clear the fence apart from being a useful medium-pacer. Somehow his success before this edition of the T20 league was limited to a couple of good hits on flat pitches— his most notable showing being the unbeaten 62 off 42 balls for Rajasthan Royals (RR) to chase down CSK’s total of 189/4 in Abu Dhabi in 2021. In fact, he was developing a reputation of a flat-track bully who feasted on average bowling attacks. The RR-CSK game was a high-scoring match played on batting friendly surface where CSK’s Ruturaj Gaikwad had also hit a hundred.

In 2019 IPL, the India discard’s highest score was 24 and in 2020 it was 27*. Spending big in the auction on him due to his reputation in domestic cricket didn’t feel like value for money. Both his earlier franchises, Royal Challengers Bangalore, who bought him for ₹5 crore in 2019, and RR, who spent ₹4.40 in 2021, didn’t get the desired returns.

At the 2022 auction, Dube got picked by CSK. Like many before him who came to the yellow brigade, including Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Moeen Ali, Dubey also looks to be on his way to realising his potential in T20 cricket.

This season he is scoring in every other game on different grounds. After a 30-ball 49 against Lucknow Super Giants and a 30-ball 57 against Punjab Kings, RCB felt the full might of his blade in the IPL game at the DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday. Dube smashed an unbeaten 95 off just 46 balls with eight sixes to prove that his transformation into a destructive T20 batter was complete.

“What I was doing at the domestic level, in Ranji Trophy, and have been trying to do (at the IPL) for a long time, I am able to execute that (this season). When you play at this level you have to raise your game. My idea is to not think too much, back myself, keep my balance. (It’s) just that I am playing well and my confidence is high,” said Dube after helping CSK beat RCB by 23 runs.

Earlier, Dube would let the pressure affect him. He would look to muscle the ball instead of timing it. In CSK colours, he looks calm in tough situations, letting his natural instincts take over. It is being seen in the way he is timing ball so sweetly. “They (CSK) have given me security. With that I back my game always, I am hitting the balls which I feel are there to be hit, I am connecting well so my confidence is quite high. I am trying to play my natural game,” he said.

Vinayak Samant, Dube’s former Mumbai coach, said: “He had a powerful game from the beginning. Initially, he used to struggle against pacers but he hit some good shots against them in the RCB match, so he has improved that aspect of the game. He has matured as a player. One of the good things is he is getting to play with MS Dhoni at CSK. If you have noticed, all Indian players who have played for CSK alongside Dhoni have seen their game go up a notch. Spending time with knowledgeable people helps.

“In the last two seasons he didn’t get many opportunities nor did he score many runs. CSK sending him up the order is helping him get his eye in before he can bring those big shots. This is the kind of impact Dhoni has on the youngsters. He creates miracles by staying in the background,” said Samant, who was the Mumbai coach in 2018-19 which was Dube's first full season.

Former India player Sameer Dighe, during whose time as Mumbai coach Dube made his debut, said: “CSK must have realised his potential. They must have realised that, ‘if we give him more time in the middle, he will be more destructive’ and that’s what he did against RCB. I feel there has been a vast improvement. He has emerged a reliable all-rounder. He has the hitting capacity with which he can dominate the attack.”