Shivam Dube Reveals Gambhir's Secret: How 'Bindas Bowling' Transformed His Game

With premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya out of action due to left quadriceps strain, Dube has stepped up to fill his role in the T20Is. During India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup, Dube chipped in with a couple of overs in the middle and scythed crucial breakthroughs.

During the fourth T20I on Thursday against Australia, Dube claimed one of the decisive wickets in the second innings. During Australia's pursuit of a challenging 168-run target, Tim David dispatched the ball into the top tier of the Gold Coast Stadium, off Dube on the second ball of the 12th over.

However, it was Dube who had the last laugh. On the next ball, with a 122kph delivery, Dube dug in short, which lured David to go for a pull. The Australian committed early and ballooned the ball up to extra cover, straight to captain Suryakumar Yadav and returned to the dugout cheaply on 14(9).

Before removing David, Dube used the slower ball to outfox Australia captain Mitchell Marsh, lured him to dispatch the ball straight to Arshdeep Singh and punched his return ticket on 30(24), which resulted in Australia bundling out on 119 in 18.2 overs.

"So, when he (David) got me a six, I just thought, that's a good shot. I should focus on my next ball," Dube told reporters after being asked about his approach for David after hitting a six following India's 48-run triumph.

The 32-year-old outlined the role of Gambhir, Morkel and Suryakumar in mapping a plan for him, which has allowed him to flourish with the ball. Dube went on to reveal that Gambhir assured him that the management fully supports him, while Morkel offered insights which helped him improve.

"Yes, it was very important for me. Because when I got the chance, I knew that I wanted to bowl. And especially Morne, Gauti bhai and Surya. They made a very good plan for me. They told me which track I have to go to and how I have to bowl," Dube said.

"Gauti bhai backed me a lot for that. He told me to do Bindas bowling. He said, 'We are here for you. ' You will run, but I want you to express yourself. And that was the plan even today. So, I did that. Morne has helped me a lot because there are some small things that have made my bowling a little better, which were not happening before. I was trying a lot. So, that was a good thing," Dube added.

Before returning with figures of 2/20 in his two-over spell, Dube was promoted from the middle to number three and walloped 22(18), a knock that set the tone for India to post a challenging 167/8 on the board. Dube is slowly evolving into a threatening seam bowling all-rounder, who is an asset in South Africa, a country which will host the 2027 World Cup.

When asked about his plans for the 2027 showpiece event, Dube declared that his focus is solely on defending India's crown on home soil in T20 World Cup next year and said, "That is very far. And I can target a lot of things. But right now, I am only thinking about the T20 because the T20 World Cup is coming up."

- ANI