Overview
- In the fourth T20I at Visakhapatnam, Dube smashed 65 off 23 balls, reaching fifty in 15 deliveries, before a non-striker’s run-out as India lost by 50 runs.
- Since CSK signed him in 2022 as a middle-overs six-hitter, he has expanded from spin dominance to reliable pace-hitting, with reporting citing 67 sixes off spin and 78 off pace.
- New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner steered clear of bowling to him and shuffled match-ups, yet Dube blasted 29 in an over off Ish Sodhi and later cleared Jacob Duffy twice.
- Coaches attribute the leap to targeted CSK work, with Mike Hussey noting better scoring off short balls and MS Dhoni–Stephen Fleming sustaining a clearly defined batting role.
- India have also used Dube’s medium pace in recent assignments, including the Asia Cup, bolstering his value as a dual-skill option ahead of the Feb 7 tournament.