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Suryakumar Yadav trusted Shivam Dube to open bowling in the Asia Cup 2025 final vs Pakistan and the latter impressed conceding just 23 runs in 3 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav (left) has a chat with Shivam Dube during an Asia Cup 2025 match. (PTI Photo)
During the high-voltage Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan, India captain Suryakumar Yadav handed over the new ball to allrounder Shivam Dube who had bowled 10 overs in five matches in the lead up to the title clash. The call, though surprising, was necessitated by the injury to Hardik Pandya who missed the finale due to a quadricep injury. Still, asking a non-regular bowler to bowl the first over of a final instead of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was a call that could have backfired spectacularly had he ended up leaking runs.
To Dube’s credit, he did a decent job by conceding just a boundary in the first over. In fact, he bowled three wicketless overs but allowed just 23 runs as Pakistan were bowled out for 146.
Suryakumar says he knew how hard Dube has been working on his bowling and was quite confident of doing the job for the team that he opened the attack with the medium pacer.
“No, no, I don’t put pressure on anyone. You’re talking about expectations – I absolutely don’t put any pressure. Everyone has their own preparation; they know the conditions here, how they need to bowl. But he’s (Dube) been working really hard on his bowling. And because of that, he showed such confidence that I made him bowl in the Asia Cup final. I knew – I’ve been playing with him for seven-eight years – how capable he is. I saw that his preparation was really good,” India captain Suryakumar told reporters ahead of the 1st T20I against Australia in Canberra.
Suryakumar said he won’t hesitate in deploying Dube in a similar role even against a quality side like Australia. “If your preparation is solid, if you’ve practiced well and there’s no doubt in your mind, then I think you’re very clear with your plans. And he is very clear with his plans. If he gets another opportunity tomorrow, why not? It’s a good team, and when you bowl well against a good team, it boosts your confidence even more,” he said.
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
October 28, 2025, 11:30 IST
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