Will Dube’s bowling abilities push him up the pecking order? ©AFP
India’s third practice session at the ICC Academy in Dubai came with an unusual background score. “Surya sirrrrr,” a boy kept calling out, his pitch rising and growing more desperate by the minute. Normally, Suryakumar Yadav is quick to oblige with a smile, an autograph or even a selfie. But with India needing to hop across to the adjoining Dubai International Stadium, and with the boy stranded at the far end of the ground, the call went unanswered.
The voice carried on, high-pitched and insistent, still untouched by puberty. Out in the middle though, India’s combinations looked anything but boyish. They have matured with every passing net session.
On Monday (September 8) at the ICC Academy, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma and Tilak Varma were the first ones to bat in the nets, quickly joined by Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav. Abhishek Sharma, a certainty for this Asia Cup, spent time on his left-arm spin, pairing up with the other spinners to bowl at Hardik and Suryakumar, and often disappearing into the other cricket ground at the ICC Academy.
Jitesh, after his long batting stint, had a separate fielding (focused on top-edges) and wicketkeeping drill with T Dilip, a clear indication that he is India’s preferred keeper. Sanju Samson was spotted with gloves for the first time but spent most of the session in a side net, working with a net bowler, rather than in the centre-wicket nets where the core of the side trained.
Samson and Rinku Singh batted only after the rest had finished, a telling sign of their place in the pecking order and of limited roles, at least at the start of the tournament.
Axar Patel, with his polished all-round skills and the experience of having been vice-captain not too long ago, should make it to the Playing XI on these UAE surfaces.
One of the other all-rounder spots, it feels, could go to Shivam Dube. He not only batted long and upfront during all of India’s net sessions but also bowled alongside Bumrah and Arshdeep to the likely opening pair of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, who have consistently paired up in the nets as much as outside of it.
“For me, it’s always important to see a guy like Shivam that can bowl four overs,” Morkel told the media on September 8. “I’m always pushing for all-rounders to work hard on both skills. Sometimes guys can get a little bit naughty in practice and focus just on one. Here in this environment, we want to leave no stone unturned.
“On the day, we’re going to need somebody to do the work for us. Conditions might favour him more than somebody else. For us, it’s about being professional.”
Grass on the pitch further helps Dube’s case. Morkel acknowledged that surfaces in this tournament would be different from those during the Champions Trophy, when India leaned on a single frontline pacer and a cluster of spinners on tired wickets.
“We need to go and look at the wicket. I think when the Champions Trophy was played at that time, there was a lot of cricket on the surfaces here and they looked a little bit tired,” Morkel said.
“Tonight we’ll have a first look at the surface and I believe there’s quite a bit of grass covering on the square. So we’ll have a good idea going into the first game in terms of what is sort of a better way to go, but in terms of planning at the moment, we’re covering all bases and then we’ll make a decision obviously on match day.”
That decision could mean Kuldeep Yadav warms the bench again, given Varun’s Champions Trophy performance and the mystery he brings to the table. His improved fielding, on display during England’s tour of India, only adds to his value.
“He’s a very professional athlete. His attitude since England, where he received hardly any game time, he’s still the guy that put the overs in,” Morkel said of Kuldeep. “He’s bowled a lot of overs in his career, he knows what to do to get himself ready for T20 cricket, white-ball cricket.
“We can control only what we can control now, and that is when we do train now and when we have our sessions, that it’s focused, that there’s a purpose behind it and we have goals. We set those goals out and from there, it’s up to them to go out and lead with the ball.”
By the time the nets wound down and the players made their way out, the boy’s voice in the background had long gone quiet. “Surya sirrr” never got an answer but in the nets, India’s captain had already offered enough and will do through the choices that will soon define his team.
© Cricbuzz
