"He reminds you of Yuvraj Singh slightly" - Aakash Chopra says Shivam Dube is an 'extremely serious' contender for the T20 World Cup

Aakash Chopra has compared Shivam Dube's hitting style to Yuvraj Singh and opined that the seam-bowling all-rounder is a serious contender for a spot in India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Afghanistan set India a 173-run target in the second T20I in Indore on Sunday, January 14. Dube smashed an unbeaten 63 off 32 deliveries to help the hosts achieve the target with six wickets and 26 deliveries to spare and clinch the series ahead of the final game in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra praised Dube for his striking ability and claimed that his strokeplay is reminiscent of Yuvraj. He elaborated (9:00):

"Shivam Dube - the striking power the kid has. He is not a kid, he is 30 years old. He started late, didn't play cricket for quite a few years in between, when he was a kid, due to some family issues. Almost left cricket and then came back. Scored a fifty against the West Indies in one match and then didn't get that many opportunities.

"He was coming back again but he made 60-plus scores in the two matches he played here. The strike rate was outstanding in both matches and struck sixes one after the other. When he hits, he reminds you of Yuvraj Singh slightly," the former India opener added.

Dube struck five fours and four sixes in his innings. The southpaw played an unbeaten 60-run knock in India's six-wicket win in the first T20I as well.

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"You will need strength to hit sixes" - Aakash Chopra on Shivam Dube's importance in Caribbean conditions

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube strung together a 92-run third-wicket partnership. [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra feels Shivam Dube will be a huge asset in the West Indian conditions. He reasoned (9:40):

"I feel Shivam Dube is an extremely serious contender to go for the World Cup because you will need strength to hit sixes. You won't be able to hit sixes with timing on the West Indies pitches. The grounds are big and the pitches are slow."

The cricketer-turned-commentator cited examples of big-hitting West Indian players to substantiate his point, saying:

"You need players who hit hard there. That's why the West Indies players play like that - Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell - no one is a grafter, everyone tries to hit hard as runs are not scored there otherwise."

Chopra feels Dube could prove to be a game-changer and a match-winner if he retains his form. He added that the Mumbai all-rounder could be the X-factor India are searching for.