3 reasons why Shivam Dube could be crucial to India's chances of winning 2025 Asia Cup

As Team India inches towards their 2025 Asia Cup opener against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai, they are faced with the problem of plenty. With a stacked side led by Suryakumar Yadav, the Men in Blue have to figure out a way to chose 11 players, not by merit, but rather in a perfect combination to suit the needs.

There are still doubts regarding certain spots in the side, and one such candidate who is making a serious case for one such slot is Shivam Dube. The explosive batter has largely been part of India's T20 Playing XI in recent times, on the back of his exploits for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Despite a mediocre 2025 campaign by his standards, followed by a poor T20 Mumbai League outing, he promises to be a vital addition to the Indian setup, largely because in his case, potential precedes form.

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why Shivam Dube could be crucial to India's chances of winning the 2025 Asia Cup.

#1 Batting Depth

Team India are faced with a familiar problem ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup, but with new personnel. As much as they would love to field a stacked bowling unit, featuring all of their specialists and their two prime all-rounders, it does result in lopsided balance, and a scary lack of batting depth.

Apart from their wicket-keeper choice, India have their top six locked and loaded, as well as three of their specialist bowlers, leaving a massive hole at No.8, which could prove to be make or break. India's persistence with the ultra-aggressive approach dictates them to go with batting depth as it comes with its own set of risks. Furthermore, given the strength and prowess of India's bowling unit, they can perhaps do with just the five options, along with a part-timer like Abhishek Sharma or Shivam Dube as the sixth option should it come to that.

Having an additional batting option in Dube gives the team a better structure, albeit at the expense of one specialist bowler. The luxury of having an extra batter allows the other batters to express themselves freely without being concerned about the lack of batting depth.

#2 Ability against spin

The key to success in the 2025 Asia Cup may boil down to how teams play spin in the subcontinent conditions. Cracking this particular code helped India massively in their victorious 2025 Champions Trophy run, and they have to replicate the same in a different format.

Shivam Dube's exploits against spin are quite well-documented, and his profile as a left-hander could really help India tackle mystery spinners and wrist spinners in the middle overs. While India does have Axar Patel as an option for such a role, Dube presents himself as a much better option in terms of pure impact and momentum.

The upcoming Asia Cup features three spinners from the Top 15 of the ICC Rankings for T20I Bowlers. Rashid Khan, Maheesh Theekshana, and Wanindu Hasaranga, all pose to be massive threats in friendly conditions, but Dube has a dominant record to negate the threat.

The south paw has scored at a strike rate of 139.13 and 218.51 against Rashid Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga in T20 cricket. He has also faced Maheesh Theekshana and Noor Ahmad extensively during his time with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

#3 A proven finisher

Just as he can be promoted to feature against spin, he can also be a massive asset in the death overs while batting in the lower middle-order. For a significant part of his T20I career, he has been deployed in this role, with 10 of his 26 T20I innings coming below No.5.

His raw hitting talent, ability to settle in from the get-go, and penchant for sixes, make him an ideal finisher. Team India might need some firepower in the lower middle-order to assist Hardik Pandya, especially if Jitesh Sharma does not feature.

Dube holds a career strike rate of 170.92 in the death overs, a number which has ramped up to 184.93, as far as matches since 2021 are concerned. He shuffled around in the middle order throughout the 2024 T20 World Cup, and it was an approach that helped India's cause.

Lastly, his medium pace can come in handy, with India needing the third all-rounder in the side following Ravindra Jadeja's retirement. Although the likes of Rinku Singh and Abhishek Sharma have chipped in with their spin bowling, having another pace bowling all-rounder, especially if India look to go spin heavy on the extreme just like the Champions Trophy, may prove to be the way to go.