'He is a crucial member of this Indian team' - Ravichandran Ashwin talks about Shivam Dube vs. Hardik Pandya T20 World Cup debate

Ravichandran Ashwin, former CSK player, opens up on the recent debate about Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya. Keeping the bias aside, Ashwin talks about Dube’s performance and how he is impressed by his post-CSK era transition. Dube did an amazing job with the bat and the ball. In two T20I matches, he took one wicket in each match.

"Hardik Pandya is a crucial member of this Indian team. However, the emergence of Shivam Dube... Just like how we divide eras into Before Christ and After Christ, we can divide his career into 'before CSK' and 'after CSK'. In West Indies conditions, which are almost CSK conditions, he is a spin-hitting monster," 

Ashwin has ended the Hardik Pandya vs. Shivam Dube debate for the World Cup by mentioning the pitch conditions of the West Indies. As the West Indies pitch will be more like Chennai’s pitch, Ashwin is hoping for Dube’s selection over Pandya. Nonetheless, if Pandya comes from injury, the last call on the selection will be taken by the selection committee. 

‘I can proudly call him 'Yuvraj Singh lite' package’ - Ashwin on Shivam Dube

Once a CSKian, always a CSKian. Ravichandran Ashwin goes by this saying. He put forward his opinion on Shivam Dube saying that he would call him ‘Yuvraj Singh lite’. As Dube tried his hands on bowling and got wickets, if he continues to perform well, he might be the next left-handed all-rounder of India. Moreover, Ashwin is already hoping for it to happen. 

Ashwin on his YouTube channel said, "I can proudly call him 'Yuvraj Singh lite' package. There are so many factoids about Yuvraj Singh that I could see in his game - the downswing, the height and the reach. I am not saying that he is like Yuvraj Singh, just saying he reminds me a lot of him. The beauty here is that he hits spin straight down the ground."