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    STUMP VISION                                                           MARCH 27, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 43

                Railway Berths to Record Books:

              Shivam Dube’s Epic 2026 Journey

              At the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Shivam Dube delivered one of the tournament’s
                     defining all-round performances against the Netherlands national cricket team

                      ARCHAN MEHTA

               n modern T20 cricket, few trans-
               formations have been as striking
            Ias that of Shivam Dube. Once
            seen as a raw power-hitter struggling
            for consistency, he has evolved into
            one  of  India’s  most  impactful  mid-
            dle-order  finishers.  The  foundation
            of that transformation was laid at the
            Chennai Super Kings, a franchise re-
            nowned for refining talent and defin-
            ing roles. When CSK secured Dube
            for Rs.4 crore ahead of the 2022 sea-
            son, captain MS Dhoni and coach
            Stephen Fleming envisioned  him as   Batting primarily in the middle order, Shivam Dube has provided left-hand balance and absorbed pressure in tricky situations, often ensuring
            a middle-order enforcer designed to
            dominate spin. With technical refine-             India maintained stability during transitions between the power hitters and finishers (ANI file photo)
            ment from batting coach Mike Hus-
            sey, Dube improved his game against   primarily in the middle order, he pro-  boundaries under pressure proved   The emotional culmination  ar-
            pace and sharpened his shot selec-  vided left-hand balance and absorbed   decisive, moments later praised by   rived when he placed his World Cup
            tion. The statistical turnaround was   pressure in tricky situations, often   coach Gautam Gambhir for their   medal around the neck of his father,
            significant. Prior to his CSK stint, he   ensuring India maintained stability   tactical significance even though that   Rajesh Dube, acknowledging the sac-
            had managed just 166 T20I runs in 15   during transitions between the power   did not dominate highlight reels. By   rifices  that  shaped  his  journey.  His
            matches at an average of 15.09 and a   hitters and finishers.       the  final  against  the  New  Zealand   father  had  long  been  his  first  coach
            strike rate of 121. Following his devel-  At  the  2026  ICC  Men’s  T20   national cricket team, Dube sealed   and biggest supporter, even stepping
            opment in the CSK system, his inter-  World Cup, Shivam Dube delivered   his impact with a blistering 26 off 8   away from running the family dairy
            national numbers surged to 886 runs   one of the tournament’s defining all-  balls, helping power India to a 96-run   business  to  help  nurture  Shivam’s
            in 51 matches at an average of 34.07   round performances against the Neth-  title victory.           cricketing dreams. By the end of In-
            and a strike rate close to 155. His IPL   erlands national cricket  team. On a   Yet the most revealing chapter   dia’s victorious campaign, Dube had
            returns reflected the same trajectory,   sluggish surface where scoring was   of Dube’s story came away from the   scored  235  runs  at  a  strike  rate  of
            289 runs at 156.21 in 2022, 418 runs   difficult, Dube flipped the script with   stadium lights. Eager to reunite with   169.06 while contributing with the ball
            at 158.33 in 2023, and 396 runs at an   a counterattacking 66 off just 31 balls,   his children in Mumbai after the vic-  and in crucial match situations. More
            explosive 162.30 in 2024.         blending brute force with calculated   tory celebrations, he quietly boarded   importantly, his tactical maturity, ro-
                That sustained IPL form trans-  aggression to dismantle the Dutch at-  an early-morning train from Ahmed-  tating strike against quality bowling
            lated into selection for the 2024 ICC   tack. He then returned with the ball   abad  in  disguise  when  flights  were   while punishing loose deliveries, sig-
            Men’s T20 World Cup in the Carib-  to deliver disciplined death overs,   unavailable.  Wearing  a  cap,  mask,   naled the emergence of a new version
            bean, where India eventually lifted   finishing  with  2  for  35  and  securing   and long-sleeved shirt, the World   of the player. In many ways, India’s ti-
            the title with an unbeaten campaign.   the Player of the Match award while   Cup champion travelled in the 3-AC   tle run showcased not just a champion
            Dube’s  numbers,  133  runs  with  a   maintaining  India’s  unbeaten  surge.  coach  and  spent  most  of  the  jour-  team, but the arrival of Shivam 2.0, a
            strike  rate  just  under  115,  did  not   His growing match awareness   ney on the top berth under a railway   composed, intelligent, and explosively
            dominate the headlines, but his role   surfaced  again  against  the  England   blanket, avoiding attention until he   effective match-winner at the heart of
            was  structurally  important.  Batting   national cricket team, where two late   reached Mumbai.      India’s T20 success and No.1 status.

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