“When I got picked for the Afghanistan series, Rohit [Sharma, captain] bhai told me I will [get a chance to] bowl and bat too,” Dube said in a chat with bcci.tv in the build-up to India’s squad announcement. “He said, ‘just show us what you can do.’ If the captain comes up and tells you we want to see you do this, you just express yourself. I felt ‘I’m now playing’, so my only thought was how can I perform and make the team win.”
“When I came into the CSK setup, Mahi [MS Dhoni] bhai and [Stephen] Fleming told me that you have to hit. But they’ve never said it has to be from the first ball,” Dube said. “Even they know doing that can be risky. It was at the back of my mind that if they have the faith in me, why should I take undue risks in my first 10 balls?
“That plan was, yes, I’m hitting [big] now, but how can I do it right through? Mentally, I prepared myself to see what my approach should be if a bowler bowls a particular ball. It took some time for me to apply this, but I’m set now. I watch the ball really well, and as it hits the bat, I get the feel that it’s gone, it’s done, it’ll go for six and go long. Special thanks to CSK. They brought me up their way and it has worked for me.”
“Yes, there is some resemblance to Yuvraj Singh,” Dube said. “It feels nice when people liken my batting to his. If I can also perform like him, it’ll be nice. When I came into the Indian team, Ravi [Shastri, then head coach] bhai told me ‘you hit sixes like Yuvraj Singh.’
“From watching [Yuvraj] bat, I’ve learnt even if he wouldn’t hit off the first seven-eight balls, he covered it up towards the end. I’ve learnt that and prepared mentally for it too. If people think I can do this [bat like him], maybe I really can. Why not? It’s important to apply the right things at the right time.”
