Shivam Dube

He made an immediate mark in first-class cricket. Over his first three matches at that level he collected two hundreds and two five-wicket hauls. Among them were a seven-wicket return against Karnataka and a century against Gujarat that arrived with Mumbai in trouble.

In the IPL, Dube turned out for RCB in 2019 and 2020, joined RR for 2021 and moved to CSK in 2022, who kept him on ahead of the 2023 season. That year proved to be his breakthrough. Handed a specific job of attacking spin bowling, he used his reach and fluent swing to dominate slow bowlers across much of the campaign and was central to MS Dhoni's team winning the title again. He then went back to domestic cricket and spent time adding variations to his bowling.

His India career began in 2019, when early IPL success earned him caps in both ODIs and T20Is, but uneven returns cost him his spot. A second chance came in 2024 when Hardik Pandya was injured, opening a place for a home T20I series against Afghanistan, and Dube responded with fifties in back-to-back games. Strong form in the 2024 IPL then took him into the squad for that year's T20 World Cup. Some questioned the pick, yet useful innings against USA, England and South Africa in the final vindicated it, and he was an important member of the side that ended India's 11-year wait for an ICC trophy.

The period since that triumph has been harder, with a loss of form and a couple of injuries. He still featured in a large part of Mumbai's 2024 domestic season, contributing to their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win. CSK retained him before the mega auction, and he is set to play for them again in the 2025 IPL season.