Former Indian seamer Varun Aaron has called Shivam Dube India’s No.1 all-rounder in Hardik Pandya’s absence. However, Aaron expressed his disappointment with Dube for not improving his bowling despite receiving a lot of chances.
In the second T20I against the West Indies, Dube returned with the figures of 0/30 in two overs as the West Indies secured a six-wicket win in the 250-run chase. Speaking on Cricinfo, the former pacer asserted that Dube needs to deliver with the ball consistently.
“Look, I think India should go past managing Shivam Dube because he has played for a long time for India. He’s gotten a long rope when it comes to his bowling, so he has to step up his bowling at this point. The Indian team has shown a lot of belief in him. Yes, he bowled a great first spell in that Asia Cup. That was a long time ago, but he has to keep continuing to evolve because, In T20Is, he’s India’s No. 1 all-rounder when Hardik Pandya is not playing,” Aaron said.
Further, Varun Aaron reckoned that India should bring in Nitish Kumar Reddy for the last two T20Is against the West Indies. Notably, Reddy has scored 91 runs and scalped nine wickets in seven T20Is so far.
“Reddy definitely has to feature. I think India’s waiting to go 2-1 in the series to play Reddy so they have their assurance that they just have to win one game to close the series. Reddy could feature in the last two T20Is, that’s how I look at it. I would want India to go with the same playing XI. Maybe think about horses for courses depending on the wicket change. Prince Yadav could be in the conversation if you were to go that way,” he added.
