Mumbai’s Shivam Dubey probably wouldn’t have had ever thought of cracking a whopping Rs 5 crore deal in the IPL 2019 player auctions just a day after whacking Baroda spinner Swapnil Singh for five sixes in as many balls in their Ranji Trophy tie.
The 25-year-old southpaw was on Tuesday grabbed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the player auctions in Jaipur.
Unlike Armaan Jaffer, Prithvi Shaw or a Sarfaraz Khan, Dubey's rise to prominence did not come from school-cricket but from the ongoing Ranji season. Even when experienced Mumbai batsmen like Surya Kumar Yadav faltered, Dubey raised his hand and bailed the team out on multiple occasions.
He has slammed 2 centuries (114 against Railways; 110 against Gujarat) and three half-centuries so far in the tournament, amassing a total of 489 runs in 5 matches.
Dubey, who idolises West Indies legend Brian Lara in batting, first came to limelight during the T20 Mumbai Premiere League where he hammered veteran spinner Praveen Tambe for five consecutive sixes. And from then on there was no looking back for the youngster, though he had to take a break due to personal reasons.
A senior Mumbai Cricket Association official, who knows Dubey, said he was bulky earlier and has worked on his fitness a lot.
“Dubey started playing age-group cricket but then took a break due to personal reasons. He has played U19, U23 cricket before making his Ranji Trophy debut. He is much focussed now,” the official said.
Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant also heaped praise on Dubey but suggested that the youngster should focus more on his fitness.
“No doubt he is a very good player and hard hitter of the ball. But he has to work on his fitness because he is not agile. And also T20 cricket is fast,” Samant said.