From spin-hitter to finisher: Why Shivam Dube is struggling at CSK in IPL 2026
Shivam Dube couldn’t master the finisher’s role in RCB and RR, but with MS Dhoni yet to play, he is evolving himself from the aaru saamy into a role far from his comfort zone.
In this season of the IPL, there has been a rather unfamiliar but regular sight when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have put up the nets and started their batting drills. Shivam Dube, who reinvented his career since joining the franchise in 2022 as a spin-hitter and has gone on to replicate the role successfully with India in consecutive T20 World Cup triumphs, is now prepping up for the role of a finisher – one which Dube couldn’t master during his stint with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals, but one he has done admirably well in India colours. But in yellow, it has so far resulted in the Aaru Saamy disappearing from the scene this season, with just 6 sixes to show in 8 outings.
The new role has meant a change in his training methods. These days, Dube doesn’t milk spinners in the nets. He gets down to facing the pacers, who throw different challenges. From wide yorkers to bouncers on the off-stump channel, short deliveries aimed at the body and cramping him for room, full deliveries in the line of stumps – fast and quick, and time and again the back of length deliveries in line of the stumps. He isn’t just the spin basher anymore. Work put in with Hussey in the past when it comes to facing quicks has seen his game against pacers improve drastically.
That evolution of his batting meant Dube has been able to throw the match-ups to the bin, with opposition captains turning towards pacers no longer granted success. Spin or pace, the sixes kept coming. But this season, with MS Dhoni not around as finisher, and their batting unit being top-heavy and lacking experience, they have put Dube back in a role that is far from his comfort zone.
In eight innings so far, Dube has batted at No 4 three thrice. Two of those have come when their top-order had taken up the majority of overs, and he was needed only to provide impetus. The other occasion came against Mumbai Indians – their opponents on Saturday – at the Wankhede, where his entry point was ideal. With Sanju Samson holding the other end strong, and spinners operating, he was sent in at No 4 to take on Allah Ghazanfar. What one got to see was an uncharacteristic Dube, who just swung through the line without being anywhere close to the reach of the ball and saw the stumps shattered.
It followed a session here at Chepauk before the painstaking 22 off 17 against Gujarat Titans at No 6. It was an innings where Dube was dropped thrice. On the eve of the game, his struggles showed no end. At times, he appeared to try way too hard to beat the rut, but seldom succeeded. For a team that is struggling to keep pace with the crowded pack in the middle, Dube’s form is turning into a huge concern.
Since arriving at the franchise in 2022, Dube has been their six-hitter. He has tallied 16, 35, 28 and 21 in the last four seasons and, in current form, will struggle to even match his worst tally. Having flirted at No 6 & 7, he has come to bat in the last 10 overs, and at that position doesn’t get to face the spinners often. Chennai might feel they have a case to make him play the finisher’s role, as he came into the IPL on the back of a similar role with India. It is a role he had aced in the last two big events – the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. But when it comes to the IPL, it continues to be a phase in which Dube still seems to struggle.
The presence of Dewald Brevis, too, has played a role when it comes to CSK holding back Dube. It is a team that has way too many top-order batsmen. Having relied on Dube to provide the firepower in the middle-overs, this season that role has been passed onto Brevis, another batsman who has an incredible match-up against spin and provides more intent than Dube and has an all-round game. The issue with Brevis is that his stays have all been brief, with the 29 deliveries he faced against Kolkata Knight Riders being the most he has faced.
“We like Brevis and Dube coming in the middle overs, and that’s when they can be most dominant,” CSK batting coach Mike Hussey said. “In some matches, it hasn’t probably worked out how we would like get them in at the exactly the right time, and we’ve sort of certainly flirted with the idea of, do we just try and get them in a bit earlier and let them get some time to get in and then they can accelerate from there. And then other times we’ve tried to hold them back because we’ve lost early wickets and we just want to try and get through a little bit longer with the new ball before then bringing them in. So we probably haven’t quite got it right with those two just yet. So, moving forward, I think we’d like to settle them into one particular role,” he added.
With CSK sixth in the table with six points, for them to be in contention for play-offs, they are in a position where they have to win 5 of their remaining six matches. Given they have repeatedly lost way in the middle-overs, in particular against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans – the two defeats which could come back to bite them hard in the end, perhaps putting Dube at No 4 and Brevis as a finisher could well provide a flip.
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In this season of the IPL, there has been a rather unfamiliar but regular sight when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have put up the nets and started their batting drills. Shivam Dube, who reinvented his career since joining the franchise in 2022 as a spin-hitter and has gone on to replicate the role successfully with India in consecutive T20 World Cup triumphs, is now prepping up for the role of a finisher – one which Dube couldn’t master during his stint with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals, but one he has done admirably well in India colours. But in yellow, it has so far resulted in the Aaru Saamy disappearing from the scene this season, with just 6 sixes to show in 8 outings.
The new role has meant a change in his training methods. These days, Dube doesn’t milk spinners in the nets. He gets down to facing the pacers, who throw different challenges. From wide yorkers to bouncers on the off-stump channel, short deliveries aimed at the body and cramping him for room, full deliveries in the line of stumps – fast and quick, and time and again the back of length deliveries in line of the stumps. He isn’t just the spin basher anymore. Work put in with Hussey in the past when it comes to facing quicks has seen his game against pacers improve drastically.
That evolution of his batting meant Dube has been able to throw the match-ups to the bin, with opposition captains turning towards pacers no longer granted success. Spin or pace, the sixes kept coming. But this season, with MS Dhoni not around as finisher, and their batting unit being top-heavy and lacking experience, they have put Dube back in a role that is far from his comfort zone.
In eight innings so far, Dube has batted at No 4 three thrice. Two of those have come when their top-order had taken up the majority of overs, and he was needed only to provide impetus. The other occasion came against Mumbai Indians – their opponents on Saturday – at the Wankhede, where his entry point was ideal. With Sanju Samson holding the other end strong, and spinners operating, he was sent in at No 4 to take on Allah Ghazanfar. What one got to see was an uncharacteristic Dube, who just swung through the line without being anywhere close to the reach of the ball and saw the stumps shattered.
It followed a session here at Chepauk before the painstaking 22 off 17 against Gujarat Titans at No 6. It was an innings where Dube was dropped thrice. On the eve of the game, his struggles showed no end. At times, he appeared to try way too hard to beat the rut, but seldom succeeded. For a team that is struggling to keep pace with the crowded pack in the middle, Dube’s form is turning into a huge concern.
Since arriving at the franchise in 2022, Dube has been their six-hitter. He has tallied 16, 35, 28 and 21 in the last four seasons and, in current form, will struggle to even match his worst tally. Having flirted at No 6 & 7, he has come to bat in the last 10 overs, and at that position doesn’t get to face the spinners often. Chennai might feel they have a case to make him play the finisher’s role, as he came into the IPL on the back of a similar role with India. It is a role he had aced in the last two big events – the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. But when it comes to the IPL, it continues to be a phase in which Dube still seems to struggle.
The presence of Dewald Brevis, too, has played a role when it comes to CSK holding back Dube. It is a team that has way too many top-order batsmen. Having relied on Dube to provide the firepower in the middle-overs, this season that role has been passed onto Brevis, another batsman who has an incredible match-up against spin and provides more intent than Dube and has an all-round game. The issue with Brevis is that his stays have all been brief, with the 29 deliveries he faced against Kolkata Knight Riders being the most he has faced.
“We like Brevis and Dube coming in the middle overs, and that’s when they can be most dominant,” CSK batting coach Mike Hussey said. “In some matches, it hasn’t probably worked out how we would like get them in at the exactly the right time, and we’ve sort of certainly flirted with the idea of, do we just try and get them in a bit earlier and let them get some time to get in and then they can accelerate from there. And then other times we’ve tried to hold them back because we’ve lost early wickets and we just want to try and get through a little bit longer with the new ball before then bringing them in. So we probably haven’t quite got it right with those two just yet. So, moving forward, I think we’d like to settle them into one particular role,” he added.
With CSK sixth in the table with six points, for them to be in contention for play-offs, they are in a position where they have to win 5 of their remaining six matches. Given they have repeatedly lost way in the middle-overs, in particular against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans – the two defeats which could come back to bite them hard in the end, perhaps putting Dube at No 4 and Brevis as a finisher could well provide a flip.
