A day after smashing five successive sixes for Mumbai against Baroda in a Ranji Trophy match, Shivam Dube was trying his best to relax while watching the Indian Premier League auction on television along with his family.
When his name popped up, he was on the edge. What pleased him more than the ₹5 crore he eventually went for - to Royal Challengers Bangalore - was the bidding war the IPL franchises, including Mumbai Indians, were involved in.
Excited
“It was exciting but the moment I saw the first bid, I was kind of relaxed,” Dube told The Hindu .
“The money doesn’t matter at this stage of my career. I hope I can repose the faith by continuing to perform consistently in what would be my first IPL.”
The 25-year-old all-rounder was in the stands at the Wankhede Stadium when Mumbai Indians was pipped in a thrilling last-ball contest by Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural edition in 2008.
“Since then, I have cherished a dream of playing in the IPL. For a while I didn’t think it would come true since I had given up playing competitive cricket for five years (from the age of 14 to 19),” Dube said.
After returning to the maidans of Mumbai, Dube, with his ability to hit straight sixes at will and bowl a heavy-ball with his medium-pace, had a rapid rise.
He marked his First Class debut in the Ranji Trophy with a half-century and a five-for during Mumbai’s quarterfinal loss against Karnataka in 2017-18.
Then came the Mumbai T20 League where he emerged as the player of the tournament, hitting leggie Pravin Tambe for five consecutive sixes. It was followed by an impressive outing in Mumbai’s triumphant Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign.
He has continued in the same vein, hammering two hundreds and two fifties, and returning with a seven-wicket haul in Mumbai’s topsy-turvy Ranji season so far.
He has been on the IPL franchises’ radar ever since.
Getting fitter
Dube is eyeing much more than IPL laurels. He has started working on his fitness - something that will be under the scanner as his RCB captain Virat Kohli is a fitness freak - over the last few months.
“I have been following a routine. I even had a chat with Shankar Basu (Indian team’s trainer) and he told me to stick to the same routine and not change anything during the season,” Dube said.
