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Cricket News: IPL 2022: Why Shivam Dube is firing for CSK | Key factors why Shivam Dube is firing in the 2022 Indian Premier League

Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shivam Dube’s form with the bat has been a talking point in the ongoing edition of the IPL. Dube has made everyone sit up and take notice with his destructive and authoritative batting.

In the midst of a shaky start to CSK’s IPL 2022 campaign, Shivam Dube’s batting form has been the bright spot for the defending champions.

As at 21 April, Dube has scored the most runs for Chennai; 226 in six matches at an average of 45.20 and strike rate of 168.65. He has a strike rate of 199.28 against the pacers while going after the spinners at 155.93. The left-hander has hit two half-centuries and is the sixth-highest run-scorer in the tournament at the moment behind Jos Buttler, KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya.

Dube has been an aggressive player with the bat in the domestic circuit but has not been able to replicate the same form at the IPL and international level for India.

That’s why before the start of the IPL 2022 season many questioned his selection at the price of Rs 4.00 crore.

In the nine matches in 2021 for Rajasthan Royals, Dube scored 230 runs at an average of 28.75. In 2020, turning out for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he made 129 in 11 matches.

What went wrong for Shivam Dube in the earlier seasons?

Reputation plays a big part in sportsman’s life. When Dube burst onto the scene, he had the reputation of a power-hitter who can strike big and at a quick rate. That may have played with his mind because in the earlier seasons, his biggest problem was his tendency to try hit every ball hard and out of the ground. He used to swing his bat at everything, would often lose his balance, and cost him his wicket.

Promoted in the batting order by the CSK management this season, Dube has lived up to the expectations with his show of controlled aggression. With their top-order failing to click, the 28-year-old left-hander has held the innings together with consistent contributions. One of the hallmarks of Chennai Super Kings’ success has been the number of players who have come to the franchise and found their mojo. Dube is another.

What is Dube doing right this season?

The tall left-hander has worked a lot on the technical aspect of his game because that’s where he was lacking as a batter. One of the most crucial aspects of power-hitting is maintaining the balance and posture of the body. Earlier while attempting a big shot he used to lose his balance but now in this season he’s getting into good positions to play the big shots successfully.

The wagon wheel of Shivam Dube in this year’s IPL shows a vast improvement in his offside play and a big share of the credit should be given to CSK’s batting coach Mike Hussey.

The most important feature of his batting this year is that he’s choosing the right bowlers to target in a game instead of going after all the bowlers. With Dube, the aggression was always there but this season he has chanelled that aggression, and that’s helping with consistency.

He has matured with age and is playing straight, within the ‘V’. The timing of his shots has also improved and has been particularly severe on anything bowled on the middle-leg stump. He is thriving in the middle and death overs – a period where the great Kumar Sangakkara identified as Dube’s best time to bat.

Comparisons have already begun with Yuvraj Singh because much like the stylish left-handed former Indian player, Dube uses his long reach to great effect to hit sixes against the spinners.

It’s still early days in IPL 2022 but it’s clear that Shivam has indeed taken his game to the next level. He’s looking determined to do well and prove his critics wrong. CSK fans would be hoping that he continues the same run of form in the remaining games.

Written by Vaibhav Tripathi. Follow Vaibhav on Twitter today.