T20 World Cup: 'If captain tells...,' Shivam Dube reveals chat with Rohit in January gave selection indication

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shivam Dube has revealed that a chat with India skipper Rohit Sharma during the Afghanistan T20I series in January earlier this year gave him indication of his T20 World Cup 2024 selection. Dube, on April 30, was named in the 15-man India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.

"When I got picked for the Afghanistan series, Rohit [Sharma] bhai told me I will [get a chance to] bowl and bat as well," Dube said in a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"He asked 'show us what you can do.' If the captain tells you we want to see you do this, you feel motivated to express yourself. My only thought then was how I could perform and help the team win," Dube added.

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Dube had made his debut for India in 2019 but had fallen out of favour because of a string of poor performances. He, however, came back into the limelight, thanks to a stellar season with the CSK in IPL 2023. He smashed 418 runs in the title-winning season at a strike rate of 158 in 16 matches.

Dube also credited his rise to CSK set up and said: "When I came into the CSK setup, Mahi [MS Dhoni] bhai and [Stephen] Fleming told me that you have to hit. But they never said it has to be from the first ball. They know doing that can be risky. In my mind, I knew that they have the faith in me, so why should I take needless risks in my first 10 balls?

His first match after the India T20 World Cup 2024 squad selection, however, didn't go as planned. Dube was dismissed for a first ball duck against the Punjab Kings in IPL 2024 on May 1.