IPL 2021: "Shivam Dube's great strength is his ability to bat through that middle-order" - Kumar Sangakkara

Former Sri Lankan skipper and RR coach Kumar Sangakkara has opined that seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube's strength as a batter is his ability to bat through the middle-overs rather than at the death.

Speaking to noted Australian editor Charbel Coorey at Cricblog, Sangakkara attributed Dube's ability against spinners as a major reason behind the young southpaw's effectiveness during the middle overs.

"Dube was a very good buy for us and I think he’s exciting. I think Shivam Dube's great strength is his ability to bat through that middle order; not exactly at the death, but slightly earlier than that. He’s very good against spin," said the RR coach.

Dube vindicated Sangakkara's words to the hilt in his maiden outing in the UAE leg against the Chennai Super Kings. The Mumbai lad smashed an unbeaten 42-ball 64 to help his side overhaul their target of 190 in just 17.3 overs.

Has Shivam Dube solved the Rajasthan Royal's middle-overs issue?

Shivam Dube in international action against New Zealand

Once hailed as India's answer to a quality seam-bowling all-rounder, Dube did not exactly set the stage on fire during the limited opportunities he had at international level and for Virat Kohli's RCB.

One of the reasons behind Shivam Dube not being successful at RCB can be attributed to the fact that the southpaw was primarily used as a finisher and rarely during the middle-overs.

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As Sangakkara pointed out, Dube's strength lies against spinners and not against pacers who generally bowl during the closing stages of an inning.

With Rajasthan struggling for vital contributions during the middle-overs thanks to the poor form of the likes of Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror and especially Riyan Parag, there was a lot of clamor regarding Dube's constant snub from playing XI during the ongoing UAE leg.

The 28-year-old finally got his chance against the Super Kings and he made it count big time while batting at the No.4 spot.

The left-hander was particularly brutal against the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali and once he got his eye in, even the pacers weren't spared.

Dube ensured he stayed until the end and the Royals will hope he emulates the same template in their must-win game against the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday (October 5).