New Chandigarh: Shubham Dubey Most of his cricketing career was spent waiting. Waiting for recognition, waiting for opportunity, waiting for the moment that would require everything he had quietly built over the years. Tuesday night, as rajasthan royals Facing the undefeated Kings XI Punjab here, that moment has finally arrived. Dolby grabbed it with both hands.The 31-year-old Dube, who comes in as an “impact substitute” at No. 6 ahead of established names like Ravindra Jadeja and Dasun Shanaka, faces a situation that could easily swallow him up.Rajasthan Royals still needed 72 off 36 balls, the momentum of the chase had waned and the pressure was mounting. But Dolby didn’t remain calm. He turned the game on its head.Dubey smashed 31 off just 12 balls at a strike rate of 258.33 and joined Donovan Ferreira in scoring 77 runs in just 32 balls for a six-wicket win. What initially looked like a faltering chase turned into a statement win, ending Punjab’s unbeaten run.
Dubey was born in Yavatmal in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha district from a humble background. Ten years ago, he could not afford to buy basic cricket equipment. His father, Badriprasad Dubey, runs a paan stall in Nagpur and the family ekes out a living with limited income.The breakthrough came from the faith of his mentor, the late Sudeep Jaiswal, and was supported by few. Jaiswal bought him his first cricket kit – a new bat, gloves and other necessities to enable Dubey to compete on an equal footing. More importantly, he helped him find his way into the Vidarbha team.Since then, Dubey has built a reputation in the lesser-known corners of Indian cricket. Tournaments like the Papna Trophy in Vidarbha became his proving ground where he developed into a power batsman who could change the momentum in the overs. The wider recognition comes during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-24. Dolby accumulated 221 points at an average of 73.66 and finished with a final score of 187.28. For IPL scouts, these numbers are too eye-catching to ignore.In response, Rajasthan Royals invested Rs 58 crore in him ahead of IPL-2024. But the transition hasn’t been seamless. Although his strike rate of 173.68 hinted at his intentions, he scored just 33 points in four games. RR released him but bought him back for Rs 80 lakh.“Dolby, as an impact player, it’s one of the hardest things to do because you don’t know if you’re playing or not. So mentally, he’s very skilled. His ability to stay focused and get into the middle and turn the game in our favor is outstanding,” said Kumar Sangakkarathe head coach and director of cricket of Rajasthan.Sangakkara noted that Rajasthan Royals’ strength lies in their batting depth and Dubey is a stalwart part of that core. “The focus is mainly on Vaibhav (Sooryavanshi). But at the same time, when I look around me and go through my batsmen, there’s Dhruv (Jurel), Yash (Yashasvi Jaiswal), Riyan (Parag), Donovan Ferreira and now guys like Dubey,” Sangakkara said.
