Shubham Dubey’s long road from tennis-ball cricket to IPL stardom

In the Indian domestic roster, where players are often judged on their volume of runs and average, Vidarbha’s Shubham Dubey is a rare outlier. The middle-order batter averages just 36 with the bat in both white-ball formats. 

However, Shubham provides value to the Vidarbha white-ball team with his specialised ability to take on the bowling from ball one in the death overs – endorsed by his T20 strike rate of 153.75. This rare hitting potential has taken him from the fringes of domestic cricket to the Rajasthan Royals’ playing twelve in the Indian Premier League. 

Shubham credits his tennis-ball cricket gig for transforming him into a finisher in the shorter formats of the game. “I started cricket quite late. I was playing tennis-ball cricket. There, you tend to divide the total by six and try to chase it down. I got used to taking the game deep,” Shubham told  Sportstar on the sidelines of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025.

“When I started playing leather ball, things started happening on their own. I tried to adapt whatever I could from tennis ball cricket into this and vice versa. I started doing it in practice and gradually I was able to convert myself into a middle-order finisher,” he explained. 

Lucky break

Shubham first started playing with the cricket ball just to avoid lectures in ninth grade. A chance encounter with the physical education teacher paved his pathway into serious cricket. “My friends from school used to represent Maharashtra in age-group cricket. Hanging around with them gave me the chance to bunk classes. But one day, a sir saw me practice with them. I had to do something to impress him. I bowled some medium pace because I knew he liked such bowlers. That’s how my cricket journey started,” Shubham said. 

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Despite coming from a middle-class background where sport is often considered a risk, Shubham’s parents never questioned his decision to pursue cricket. His father, Badriprasad Dubey, used to run a  paan thela [stall]  in Nagpur and has since shifted to work in a private company, while his mother is a homemaker.

“They never stopped me from doing my work. Even if I returned at 2 am after playing tennis ball cricket, they never questioned me. Another thing is, they had no idea about the sport. They didn’t even know the ‘C’ in cricket,” the 31-year-old said. “Fortunately, I had the support of my uncle’s friend, Late Advocate Sudeep Jaiswal. He helped me financially, giving me a bat and a kit bag. He helped me take my first steps in club cricket,” he added. 

Finding his feet

During times when he did not have enough money to pursue serious cricket, Shubham would find solace in tennis ball cricket, despite the overarching sentiment being that it is a deterrent to having a solid technique in red-ball cricket. 

“I used to play tennis ball tournaments earlier to manage my expenses. I continue to get invitations, but I don’t play anymore. Whichever form of cricket it is, you always get to learn something. There is pressure in tennis ball [cricket] as well. There is a public paying money to watch you. You have to perform for them. The positive things I took from there definitely helped me here,” the southpaw said.

Shubham found it tough to carve a place for himself in the Vidarbha domestic setup. Despite being a part of multiple camps, he was not selected to represent the state at any level. His first chance came only with the Under-23s. After a single season, he found himself in limbo for the next four years again. 

“I didn’t make a lot of runs, so I didn’t get a chance with the team. I played one year of U23s but I was nowhere again for the next 4-5 years. My routine remained the same. I used to go practice in the morning, thinking I have to make it in cricket. I always thought I’d keep coaching as the last option,” the batter said. During this time, Shubham also participated in the Times Shield in Mumbai, where he earned seven or eight thousand a month. He said he hoped putting in good performances there would help him move to a team that pays more. 

Getting his due

Finishing in the top five of the highest run-scorers in a VCA-organised tournament brought him back into the reserves of the senior team. With two teammates having to sit out due to testing positive for COVID-19, Shubham finally got his chance. He had to wait two more years to have his first breakout season. The middle-order batter scored 221 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023/24 at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of a whopping 187.28. That opened the doors for an IPL contract.

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“I knew I would get picked in the IPL. But I didn’t expect such a big amount (5.80 crores). At that moment, I remembered a lot of things from my childhood. Sitting at my dad’s stall, playing tennis ball cricket, sleeping with 10 people in a dormitory: I started getting flashbacks. Even today, these thoughts help me stay humble,” the finisher said. 

Since being picked by the Royals, Shubham has played 13 games in the IPL, scoring 139 runs at a strike rate of 163.53. He says he still hasn’t been able to contribute as much as he would like to. “We lost a lot of close games last year. I was given the chances, but was not able to cross the finish line in a few matches. I will try harder this year, and I will look to work on my game,” the Vidarbha batter said. 

A finger injury put paid to his chances of impressing in this season’s SMAT, but he argues the setback allowed him to hit the gym and work on things he couldn’t when he didn’t have the resources. It is this mindset to continue seeking something new that has fuelled Shubham’s career despite all the hindrances he has faced. 

Published on Jan 05, 2026