Ahmedabad, Feb 20 (LatestNewsX) India bowling coach Morne Morkel has praised the steady improvement of all-rounder Shivam Dube as a bowler, saying confidence and clear backing from the team management have played a key role in his progress.
The former South African player also feels that Dube’s skills with the ball are excellent and useful for the team.
Speaking about Dube’s progress, Morkel said the journey started more than a year ago when the team began giving Dube more responsibility with the ball, including bowling important overs in different conditions.
“With Shivam, I think any bowler, we like confidence. You want to feel the backing. This journey started almost more than a year ago, when we gave him the responsibility to bowl for us in Dubai and take you back to Dubai to bowl the first over,” he said in a press conference ahead of the South Africa clash.
“I think as soon as you feel in that environment, you feel that you get backed by, first, the captain, the coach, and the staff. From there, life becomes a little bit easier. You don’t have to try to prove yourself. You don’t have to try too hard,” he added.
Dube, who is known mainly for his power hitting, has worked hard on his bowling skills. According to Morkel, he has good variations and hits the right areas with strength. The main focus was helping him understand when to use each variation and how to read match situations better.
“He’s got a lot of skill with the ball, with variations. I believe when I catch up to him, he hits the wickets quite hard. For him, it was just a matter of building that confidence and polishing up when to use his variations,” he said.
“I think he has a very good understanding of conditions. He can read the conditions very well. As a power hitter himself, he will work out what is the hardest and toughest ball to bowl,” he added.
In the ongoing tournament, Dube has chipped in with useful overs and picked up important wickets, including key breakthroughs against the Netherlands in the group stage. According to the bowling coach, his ability to bowl two steady overs when the spinners are under pressure has given India an extra option.
“You have a potential guy who can pick that wicket fast. He can bring us control with the ball in terms of his execution. Credit to him for working hard on his game and wanting to improve that all-around part of his game. It’s important. It gives us options,” Morkel said.
“If the ball is getting on for the spinners and the spinners are under pressure, he’s the perfect guy to come up and bowl two overs. It’s a nice luxury to have him confident in bowling well,” he added.
Shivam was also spectacular with the bat against the Netherlands, as he rescued the team with a 66-run knock which came off just 31 balls. The all-rounder also took two wickets with the ball and was named the player of the match for his performance.
Meanwhile, India will start its Super 8 campaign on Sunday when they will face South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
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