Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has backed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shivam Dube for a place in the T20 World Cup squad, ahead of Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya. Tiwary questioned Hardik’s role as a bowler so far this season in IPL, with the MI captain bowling only one over in the last three matches. The former Bengal captain feels if Hardik wants to seal his place in the squad for the T20 World Cup, then he’ll have to prove his bowling credentials.
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Tiwary also highlighted that Hardik has been a tad bit expensive for MI with the bowl, conceding over 11 runs per over.
“If he wants to play in the Indian T20 World Cup team as an all-rounder, he has to bowl. Look at his economy rate. It’s almost 11. He is not performing this season,” Tiwary said during a discussion on Cricbuzz.
Tiwary also asserted that if Dube fails to make the T20 World Cup squad, his IPL franchise will be responsible for his exclusion as CSK have been using him as an impact sub so far this season.
“With this form, Hardik won’t be picked in the T20 World Cup. See, Agarkar is a strong character and hence can take those bold decisions. And if Dube is not picked in the T20 World Cup, CSK will be responsible for it, because they are not allowing him to bowl. I have been saying this for a long time, if you want a replacement for Hardik, get Dube ready,” he added.
Tiwary labelled Dube as a “clever” bowler, pointing out his exploits in the T20I series against Afghanistan earlier this year.
“At one time we also had Venkatesh Iyer. Suddenly, both of them stopped bowling. We should be looking at the bigger goal. We are talking about the World Cup here and India haven’t been able to lift that trophy for a long time. So we have to plan for that ahead of time. Now Hardik is not in form and if you pick Dube in the squad, how much he can perform as a bowler is not known. But as far as I know, Dube is a clever bowler. Remember that T20I series at home against Afghanistan,” he further explained.
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