Dube’s half-century and bowling figures of 1 for 9 in two overs led India’s six-wicket victory as it returned to the T20I XI for the first time since the Asian Games in October last year.
“When I started batting, I wanted to implement what I had learned from MS Dhoni on how to finish games,” Dube told the host broadcaster. “I keep talking to Mahi bhai. He tells me how to approach different situations. He has given me two, three tips and rated my batting. So, I feel that if he rates my batting, I will continue to play well. My confidence went down because of that.
“In a T20 it is important for a batsman to finish games while chasing, so to do it for the team felt very good,” he told bcci.tv.
After the Asian Games, Dube was picked for the home T20Is against Australia, but did not play a game and was left out of the away series against South Africa, where India played without a pace bowling all-rounder. Dube could be seen as a backup to the currently injured Hardik Pandya for the T20 World Cup.
“It feels very special because I am back in the Indian team after a long time. This was important,” he said. “Both [Dhoni and Rohit] Let me bat higher up the order. There is a lot of work to do and I know you will have my back and want me to do it well. “That makes me feel a lot more positive.”
When asked what message Rohit gave him, Dube said: “He only told me one thing: ‘Keep playing this way, be positive in your game. You know you can score from anywhere and you can win the game for us from anywhere.'” .
Dube bowled the ninth and 12th overs and dismissed Ibrahim Zadran for 25 off his second ball. His first over went for just two runs and the second for seven.
“The changes have not come suddenly,” Dube said of his bowling. “In the off-season I worked a lot on my fitness. After that I also played a lot of domestic cricket so things kept improving. I was able to find the right areas and generated decent pace as well.”
The T20I against Afghanistan is India’s last series before the T20 World Cup in June, although selection for that could depend on IPL performance. Dube, however, did not think too much about the future.
“It is a dream for every cricketer to contribute and help his country win,” he said. “So that’s always in the back of my mind (World Cup selection). But there’s a lot of time left for that, so I want to take it step by step.”
