T20 World Cup 2026: In a team of stars, Shivam Dube does the stitching

It is a tragic irony that, sometimes, all-rounders are rendered invisible by their ubiquity. Their vital contributions often cede the headlines to a batter’s whirlwind knock or the havoc wreaked by a bowling spearhead.

The all-rounders, in T20s particularly, operate in those unobtrusive phases of the game, papering over the cracks that can prove fatal. Shivam Dube has silently carried that mantle, with both bat and ball, across India’s two major T20I assignments over the past year—the Asia Cup and the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Dube’s economical PowerPlay overs, in the absence of the injured Hardik Pandya, and his 22-ball 32 with the bat against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final last year were instrumental in India clinching the bitterly contested continental championship. In what has been a far-from-perfect yet unbeaten run at the T20 World Cup, Dube has spared India the blushes.

His handy 17-ball 27 against Pakistan on a spin-friendly pitch in Colombo helped the Men in Blue breach the 170-run barrier, which proved too steep for the opposition. On a low and skiddy Ahmedabad surface, Dube’s 66 off 31 balls against the Netherlands was the difference between India strutting into the Super Eights unbeaten or trudging through to the next round with a morale-shattering defeat against a lowly opposition.

A year ago, it would have been hard to imagine that Dube would be as central to India’s T20I set-up. It took hard work, self-belief and trust for Dube to emerge from Hardik’s shadow as an all-rounder in his own right.

“It’s been a long time since I played my first World Cup [in 2024], and I got to know what I needed to do in future, so that I can be better, not just as a batsman, but also as an all-rounder. I prepared myself in all those departments, which are batting, bowling, and fielding. I worked really hard on my fitness.

“Now I am bowling well, now I am batting well. My bowling has become better because of my fitness. All credit goes to Gautam [Gambhir] and Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] because they believed in me that, ‘Yes, you can bowl for us’,” the 32-year-old said after his 31-ball 66 against the Netherlands on Wednesday.

The hallmark of Dube’s innings was his ability to anticipate the slower deliveries and line up the short ball, which he once struggled against. Dube revealed in the post-match press conference that he had identified the chink in his armour and worked on it in the off-season after his maiden stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2022.

The numbers validate his hard work. Until the end of 2022, the left-hander averaged 18.40 against the short ball in all T20s, although his strike rate against it was 167.27. Since 2023, Dube has averaged a whopping 85.33 against the short stuff at a similar strike rate of 168.42. This year, his strike rate against short balls has swelled to 211.11.

A more acute sense of game awareness has also sharpened the rough edges around Dube, and the transformation was on display against the Dutch.

After Tilak Varma perished in the ninth over, Dube took his time to assess the conditions. He was batting on six off 11 balls when he finally decided to tee off against off-spinner Colin Ackermann. It is Dube’s confidence in his ability to crank through the gears seamlessly that helps him when the runs are not flowing.

“As a batsman, I know that even if I am batting on two runs in 10 balls, in the next five balls, if I hit two sixes, it will be covered. That thing always stays in my mind,” Dube explained, before adding with a smirk, “Yeah, the strength is there, that is why I am known as a power hitter.”

Dube’s improved reading of match situations has also helped him anticipate the bowler’s plans, so he isn’t drawn into them.

“I have become a little smarter. I know that this bowler can come to me with this ball. These are his strengths. I think the fast bowler can bowl me short, slower, but I’ve worked really hard towards all those things, and yes, now I’m getting better,” he added.

It is to the management’s credit and down to its penchant for bolstering the batting that Dube isn’t sacrificed whenever the conditions warrant a shuffle of the bowling pack. When an additional spinner was needed in Colombo, Arshdeep Singh made way for Kuldeep Yadav, and it was a direct swap between the two in Ahmedabad.

Dube’s importance against spin through the middle-overs cannot be overstated. His strike rate of 187.83 between overs 7 to 15 against the tweakers is the best for an Indian since the start of 2025, barring openers Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. With his vastly improved numbers against pace and a sharpened awareness, Dube becomes an invaluable link between consolidation and a final flourish, especially when the team is jolted with early wickets.

On a day when India wanted to flex its batting muscle at a traditionally high-scoring venue, it was Dube and Hardik’s 75-run partnership that carried the team to a match-winning total. On another day, it could be their hit-the-deck length and variations that save the day.

Published on Feb 19, 2026