Shivam Dube Credits MS Dhoni In Front Of Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir (L), Shivam Dube (C), and MS Dhoni (R) (Source: AFP/X)

Star Indian all-rounder, Shivam Dube, has once again sparked the ‘credit’ debate in the Indian cricketing circuit by naming MS Dhoni as a reason for an improved version of his shots against the short balls. 

Notably, in the game against the Netherlands, Shivam Dube scored a match-winning 66 off 31 balls, hitting four fours and six sixes. He also won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his outstanding and crucial knock after India defeated the Netherlands by 17 runs. 

Shivam Dube names MS Dhoni’s advice a key factor in his batting

Interestingly, Dube credited Dhoni when Gautam Gambhir was also present there on the ground after the conclusion of India’s last group-stage game against the Netherlands in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. 

In a post-match conversation with the former India wicketkeeper-batter and broadcaster, Parthiv Patel, Dube spoke about his batting technique and narrated how MS Dhoni played a vital role in the improvement. 

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“There was a time when I came to IPL, I was struggling a bit against short balls, at that time I was not able to hit them so cleanly, but then I realized that if I have to dominate at this level and I have that power, then why should I lag because of one thing. So, I worked a lot on that thing during the off season,” said Shivam Dube to Parthiv Patel. 

“Mahi [MS Dhoni] bhai used to say that it's not necessary to hit a six off every ball. You can hit a boundary, you can take a single. That always stayed in my mind. When I go in at the start, I look to just tap the ball and get going.” 

“If I see a good ball, it goes for a boundary, or I look to take a single. That's always the intent,” he added later, lauding the impact of Dhoni’s advice on his batting.  

Furthermore, Shivam Dube also discussed the difference in his intent according to the demand of the situation. Dube said he comes to bat with different kinds of intents, depending on whether he has arrived to bat quite early or a bit late in the death overs. 

“It depends on the situation; if I'm coming in during the death overs, then I will go for big shots. But at the start, my intent is usually to get a boundary or rotate the strike with singles,” he concluded. 

A decent T20 World Cup campaign for Dube 

In the T20 World Cup 2026, Shivam Dube has enjoyed a decent run of form so far with the bat. He is currently the third leading run-scorer for India in the tournament, scoring 116 runs in four innings at an average of 29.00 and a brilliant strike rate of 178.46, including the half-century against the Dutchmen. 

Besides that, he has claimed three wickets with the ball, after bowling 5.2 overs in the tournament so far. He bagged two wickets for 35 runs in the last group-stage clash against the Netherlands. 

He will now be in action for India in their first Super-8 fixture against the previous edition’s runners-up, South Africa. The game will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, where the Men in Blue played their last group match on Wednesday.

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