As the T20 World Cup is getting closer, more and more former cricketers and experts are sharing their opinions about the Indian team to be selected for the mega event. The squad is likely to be announced by the end of this month and the form of the players in the ongoing Indian Premier League will definitely factor into the selection. Ahead of the squad announcement, former India cricketer and former Chennai Super Kings star Ambati Rayudu has said that Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya are not competing for the same spot as both have different roles in the marquee tournament.

“They both are not competing for the same spot. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are finishers in the Indian team, and Shivam Dubey is a batsman who comes in at No. 4 or 5. When the spinners are doing the work and the conditions are favourable, He is slow, he can hit boundaries and bowl pace to change the game, but between overs 16 and 20, Dubey’s strike rate is not that high, he fails to score as many runs, so I Hardik and Jadeja seem to have that role in the Indian team,” Rayudu said on Star Sports.

Dubey has had a fantastic IPL season, scoring 311 runs in the first 8 matches for CSK. While his average so far is 51.83, Dubey’s strike rate is 169.95.

There is no doubt that he has staked his claim for selection with his brilliant performance.

Hardik, on the other hand, has had a poor campaign so far. He has scored only 151 runs in 8 matches at an average of 21.57. In bowling, Hardik has been able to take only 4 wickets while he has given around 11 runs per over.

Hardik has also been poor on the captaincy front and Mumbai Indians have won only three of the first eight matches played.