In their Asia Cup Super 4s match against Bangladesh on Wednesday, cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the Indian team's choice to move all-rounder Shivam Dube to No. 3 after the Men in Blue collapsed dramatically in the middle overs and ultimately failed to cross the 170-mark.
After being asked to bat by stand-in Bangladesh captain Jaker Ali, India changed tactics spectacularly during the powerplay. After scoring just 17 runs in the first three overs, they quickly advanced to 72 for no loss at the end of the powerplay. After being dropped on 7, Abhishek Sharma took the lead and rushed to a half-century off 25 balls, his second consecutive half-century in the tournament.
Shortly after the powerplay, though, Bangladesh ended the opening stand when vice-captain Shubman Gill holed out to long off leg-spinner Rishad Hossain's bowling. Additionally, the Men in Blue caused a stir when they sent seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube out to bat at the No. 3 spot, rather than India captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Given that Dube is also a left-hander, the move was all the more unexpected because it failed to even maintain a left-right combination at the centre.
“With every batter in this Indian team a phenomenal hitter against both pace & spin makes no sense to send Shivam Dube up the order,” former India batter Manjrekar wrote in a post on X, reacting to the promotion.
Later on Sony Sports Network during the innings break, Manjrekar said, “You never know who’s making those decisions. I think someone’s getting restless inside, and is feeling a bit of FOMO. That change may have affected the flow a little bit, but the fielding played the bigger role.”
Despite his utility with the ball, Dube did not have many chances to demonstrate his batting prowess. He scored an undefeated 10 in the group match against Pakistan before being dismissed for 5 in the match against Oman.
The team management may have pushed the Chennai Super Kings all-rounder up the order to give him valuable time in the middle ahead of the final. But with India yet to seal their spot, the timing of the move was questionable. A slip-up against Bangladesh could leave India facing a must-win clash against Sri Lanka on Friday.
And that’s exactly how it unfolded. Dube managed only 2 off 3 balls before following Gill back to the pavilion, triggering a middle-overs slump. After a blazing 72 in the powerplay, India could muster just 63 runs between overs 7 and 16.
Dube wasn’t the only one pushed up unexpectedly—spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel was also promoted ahead of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson. The move backfired as he scratched his way to 10 off 15 balls, with India eventually ending their innings at 168/6.
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