Shivam Dube impressed in India’s crushing nine-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates at the Asia Cup on Wednesday and the all-rounder credited bowling coach Morne Morkel with the tactical tweaks and advice that led to his three-wicket haul.
UAE were skittled for 57 runs in the Twenty20 match, with Dube recording career-best figures of 3/4 and Kuldeep Yadav picking up four wickets, before India chased down their target in just 4.3 overs.
“Morne has been working with me since I came back into the Indian team for the England series,” Dube told reporters.
“He told me to bowl a line that is slightly outside the off stump. He also worked with me in developing a slower delivery and tweaked my run-up a bit. The head coach and the skipper had told me that my bowling will have a role to play.”
Dube’s bowling has improved significantly in the past year, with half of his 16 wickets in 36 T20 international matches coming in his past four innings with the ball, but he was quick to shut down any comparisons with established all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“Hardik is like a brother from whom I tend to learn a lot as he has way more experience both in IPL and international cricket compared to me,” Dube said.