Raina’s impassioned appeal emphasises the significance of Dube’s contributions and the value he brings to the team. Raina’s advocacy suggests that Dube possesses the requisite skills and temperament to excel on the international stage, particularly in the high-pressure environment of a global tournament like the T20 World Cup.
Raina took to social media platform X to openly share his feelings, stating, “World Cup loading for Shivam dube! @imAagarkar bhai select karo please,” he wrote.
The hard-hitting Dube played a fine knock of 66 runs, which came in just 27 balls. Three fours and seven massive sixes peppered his blistering knock.
It was Dube who fetched CSK’s first six of the innings in the 13th over off Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Marcus Stoinis. Dube seamlessly slipped into his six-hitting avatar, and pacer Yash Thakur bore the brunt in the 16th over when the left-hander smashed him for three successive sixes.
In addition to his impressive hat-trick of sixes, Dube achieved a notable personal milestone during the match by surpassing the 1000-run mark for the CSK in the IPL.
CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (108, 60b, 12×4, 3×6) and Dube (66, 27b, 3×4, 7×6) added 104 runs for an entertaining fourth-wicket stand that gave impetus to CSK innings after a rather subdued Powerplay (49/2) and the middle passage. The duo together took CSK to a competitive 210/4 against LSG in Chennai.