Yuvraj Singh picks a player who will be crucial for India in T20 World Cup: ‘ …he can make a huge difference’

Veteran India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has backed Shivam Dube to make a huge difference for the Men in Blue in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. Dube got a nod over Rinku Singh in the Indian squad for the mega ICC event after his exploits with the bat in the first half of IPL 2024 for Chennai Super Kings. Dube looked in imperious form for the defending champions and scored 396 runs in 14 matches; meanwhile, his form dipped a bit in the second half post-squad announcement.

Dube is often compared with Yuvraj for his playing style and stroke-making. He will be key for the Indian team in the middle order during the mega ICC event. The left-handed batter has matured as a batter and improved his batting skills against fast bowlers, which was a concern for him in the past.

India's 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI WC hero Yuvraj praised Dube for his consistent performance in the IPL.

“I think with Shivam Dube, the last T20 series he played for India, I think he did well. And he’s been very consistent in the IPL as well,” Yuvraj told ICC in an interview.

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The CSK all-rounder had a strike rate of 162.29 and Yuvraj feels that he can make a difference with his power-hitting abilities in the lower-middle order.

“I just felt the kind of form he’s in, it was important for him to be in the squad. I really think he can make a huge difference in the middle order or the lower middle order, so it’s good to see him in the Indian T20 squad." he added.

Meanwhile, the veteran India all-rounder acknowledged the absence of Shubman Gill and Rinku Singh in the squad.

“It was hard to, if you look at the guys, it was a hard squad to make, and unfortunately couple of really guys missed out but that’s just the nature of selecting the World Cup squad I guess,” he added.

Yuvraj asserted that Rinku made a lot of improvements in his batting in the last couple of years, but it's just the team combination that the coach and captain wanted, that made him miss the squad.

“It was a bit unfortunate for Shubman Gill and Rinku Singh,” he said. If I talk about Rinku, obviously he has been in good form for India and he has done so well for KKR. And I see a lot of improvement in his batting in the last couple of years," he said.

He further talked about Shubman's absence despite scoring tons of runs for India in the last couple of years.

“Unfortunate for him and Shubman obviously, scoring tons of runs, from the last year someone who has scored the most number of hundreds for India. From the last two years, and to miss out, as I said that’s the nature of selecting a World Cup squad and I’m sure these guys will be the first ones whenever there’s an opportunity,” he added.