Shivam Dube, a unique talent, says Mike Hussey
Chennai Super Kings batting coach Michael Hussey on Tuesday said big-hitting batter Shivam Dube is a unique talent and he been playing at his best because of the clarity of his role.
"He is a unique talent. His ability to hit the ball out of the park is amazing. He has got phenomenal power. We see him in practice all the time. What is really important is the clarity on his role in the team, maybe we did not quite have it last year and the start of this year," Hussey said.
"Through Stephen Fleming and MSD (Dhoni), they have been very clear in the role they see him playing and how they see him playing at his best for us. In his mind, he is so clear about how he needs to go about playing in any situation.
"It is a floating role, it sort of depends on the situation of the game and on who the opposition are bowling," Hussey said ahead of the IPL match against Delhi Capitals in response to a question on Dube, who has scored 290 runs in nine innings so far.
The batting coach added, "Talking to him and working with him, he just feels very clear about how he needs to go about it. That mixed with his unique talent and power is a very dangerous thing for opposition teams. He is in a great place."
"He had a sort of finger injury trying to take a catch in the last game. It was great signs that he was able to come out and bat. Fingers crossed, he will be fine to get through the DC match," Hussey said of Dube.
On Wednesday's match against Delhi Capitals, the former Australia batter said CSK will have to be at their best as the opposition had been in good form and won four of the last five matches.
"It (Delhi Capitals) has been in good form. It has won four of its last five matches. It is good to come here (Chennai) with a bit of confidence. It did well in the last match (against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Delhi), it was a dominant win."
"We have to play at our best. I know DC is sitting at the bottom of the table, but it is so close to jumping up very quickly with a couple of wins."
Speaking about CSK's star all-rounder Ben Stokes, Hussey said he was training really well and was available for selection for Wednesday's match.
"Stokes has been training really well. I am pretty sure that he is available for selection. It just comes down to the balance of the squad. Obviously, we have been playing in sort of spinning conditions, so they have decided to go for the extra spin-bowling option rather than Stokes, an all-rounder who can bowl seam," he said.
"He has been training really well; he has ticked all the boxes as far as being available for selection."
Meanwhile, DC assistant coach Shane Watson said the team's batting unit had taken a little bit of time to click while the bowling had done so earlier.
"It was a big challenge to fill the void left by the absence of Rishab Pant. It was a bigger challenge than it was thought to be... The batting has taken a little bit of time to click."
Meanwhile, pacer Anrich Nortje had to fly back to South Africa following a personal emergency and missed DC's last game. He is unavailable for the game against CSK as well on Wednesday.
Watson said he expects Nortje to return to the IPL for the back-end of the tournament.
