Ravi Shastri Highlights Key Players for India’s T20 World Cup Hopes

Former India head coach, Ravi Shastri, has identified Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube as pivotal players for India’s success in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, to be held in the Caribbean and USA.

Jaiswal and Dube, both set to make their senior ICC event debuts, were included in India’s 15-member squad for the tournament. Jaiswal has been in stellar form in the ICC World Test Championship series against England, while Dube has been impressive in the ongoing IPL, hitting 26 sixes in 11 matches.

“Both are left-handers playing their first World Cup. Watch out for them,” Shastri advised in an interview with ICC.

“Jaiswal is explosive at the top of the order. He’s young, fearless, and not afraid to play his shots,” Shastri added.

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Shastri also highlighted Dube as a “match-winner” who can be lethal against spin.

“Dube is explosive and a match-winner. He hits sixes for fun, and when it comes to spin bowling, he can be devastating,” Shastri said.

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“He can hit the ball out of Long Island into the small island. He hits it big and long. Against spin, he could be lethal. Even against the fast bowlers, he’s worked out his game. He holds the key at that number five, number six position. If you need someone to change the game in 20-25 balls, he’s the player to go to,” Shastri added.

Dube has an impressive strike rate of 170.73 in IPL 2024, averaging over 40 for his 350 runs in 11 IPL games this year.

Shastri believes that Dube’s big-hitting could be the key to India achieving high scores in the competition.

“His strike rate, often close to 200, will help India immensely in achieving those 190s, 200s that are needed in big competitions, especially like the [T20] World Cup. So enjoy it, watch out for this left-hander — he’s big, he’s strapping, and he hits a long ball,” Shastri concluded.