◊Mohali: Shivam Dube made a punchy return to India fold with a match-winning 60 off 40 balls against Afghanistan in the first T20I here, and credited the iconic MS Dhoni for the transformation in his attitude and approach. Dube’s fifty headlined India’s facile six-wicket win on Thursday, and the knock also earned him the player of the match award.
“When I came to bat, I wanted to implement what I have learnt from MS Dhoni about finishing games. I keep speaking to Mahi bhai. He tells me about how to tackle different situations. He has given me two-three tips and rated my batting. “So, I feel if he rates my batting then I’ll keep playing well. My confidence went up because of that,” Dube told ‘JIO Cinema’.
Dube’s previous appearance for India was in last year’s Asian Games at Hangzhou.
The Mumbai player was part of the India squad for home T20I series against Australia but did not get a chance to play and was not selected for the away series against South Africa. Dube also found shades of Dhoni in the way Rohit Sharma captained the side, and allowed him the space to perform.