Shivam Dube praises Hardik Pandya, gives credit to Morne Morkel for constant guidance News24 –

Shivam Dube has been a crucial member of the India’s T20I team, he was even a part of the T20 World Cup 2024 squad and now he is currently in the Asia Cup 2025. The 32-year old all-rounder is known for his power-hitting skills and now he has grabbed spotlight with the ball. Dube delivered an impressive spell as he took 3 wickets by just giving away 4 runs in 2 overs.

India chose to go into to the match with a spin heavy bowling lineup and the team opted to play – Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. In this bowling attack, Dube’s seam bowling offered a valuable balance alongside Jasprit Bumrah. Even though he has not been a regular option to bowl, Dube has taken 8 wickets in 7 matches since the time Gautam Gambhir took over.

After the match, Dube praised Hardik Pandya, calling him a guiding figure in his journey as an all-rounder.

 “Hardik is the kind of player from whom I keep learning. He is like my brother. His experience in the IPL and international cricket is huge. I want to learn as much as I can from him. I keep asking him questions, even about batting. I have never thought about comparisons. All I want, playing alongside him, is to learn and use that knowledge to improve myself.”

Dube also credited Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir that they informed him before hand that he will be bowling. He further focused on Morne Morkel’s role which helped him become better.

“The captain and coach told me beforehand that I would bowl. ‘We have confidence in you,’ they said. My bowling coach helped me with a lot of things. I had been preparing for a long time to be ready whenever the opportunity came. What happened today was the reward for that preparation,” he said.

“During the England series, he (Morkel) gave me a couple of key tips. He told me to use the crease and bowl from wide of the stumps. He also advised me on getting my slower ones right. I’ve been working on that for a long time. He even helped me adjust my run-up. Because of those tweaks, I have been able to bowl well. My pace is good, and I feel confident with the ball in hand,” he added.