"It’s a huge factor for the Indian team" - Irfan Pathan hails star cricketer's role in AUS vs IND 2025 T20I series win

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has lauded Shivam Dube for his performance in the five-match T20I series against Australia, with the Men in Blue winning 2-1. The 41-year-old feels Dube's performance with the ball was the biggest plus point and that it will be a major factor if Hardik Pandya suffers injury.

The 32-year-old's most significant contribution in the series came in the fourth T20I in Queensland. After playing a cameo of 22 (18), he took the crucial wickets of Mitchell Marsh and Tim David to expose Australia's fragile lower-order. The tourists ended up winning the game by 48 runs, defending 167 successfully.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan,' he said the strength of this Indian T20I side is the all-rounders, given how well Dube, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel performed against Australia. Pathan elaborated:

"We have seen some changes but there is a story in those. The strength of this team is the all-rounders. I’m focussing on all-rounders because Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel have been the biggest positives, especially Sundar as he’s not been a regular part of the T20I side. He got an opportunity and played a 49-run knock in Hobart. When he received an opportunity to bowl, he picked up three wickets. Shivam Dube has raised his stocks in bowling and it’s a huge factor for the Indian team, given Hardik Pandya’s injury that we saw in Asia Cup."

Pathan added that Hardik Pandya will continue to be the first choice for India, but they have given themselves another option by letting Dube shine.

"The way Indian team is planning, it’s rational because they don’t want if Pandya becomes injured ahead of any big matches, they don’t have options of all-rounders. Dube is now a seam-bowling all-rounder option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is yet another option. Hardik Pandya is going to be the No.1 choice but what if he is injured? In that case, Dube has given the Indian team a massive confidence-booster," he said.

Pathan also hailed Axar's contributions in the series, opining that he holds the potential to perform any role to significant effect. The former player also recalled the left-hander's crucial role with the bat in the T20 World Cup final last year, saying:

"If we talk of Axar Patel, his innings in the World Cup final and the brisk partnership with Virat Kohli was crucial. Kohli was playing cautiously and he wanted to play until the end; hence, he wanted someone to play a brisk knock. Hence, we won that World Cup. He regularly plays well. If we look at this series, he played an excellent knock in the game at Gold Coast, the 21-run knock was crucial and it created a big difference between the two teams."

"He plays well in the middle order and lower middle-order, possessing the ability to hit boundaries. He also shown plenty of improvement in his bowling. So, the Indian team revolving around these three all-rounders is going according to the plan, which is why they’ve been experimenting a lot more. It is fair because you have plenty of options," Pathan concluded.

Axar was crowned the Player of the Match after India's 48-run victory at Gold Coast. The southpaw slammed an unbeaten 21 off 11 balls and followed it up with figures of 4-0-20-2, limiting Australia's power-hitting abilities.

"Jitesh Sharma played a good cameo when he got the chance" - Irfan Pathan

The former all-rounder raised concerns about Sanju Samson's role in the T20I side moving forward but highlighted how Jitesh Sharma produced the goods in the third game. Pathan said in the same video:

"The other factor the Indian team might be thinking is what will Sanju Samson’s spot in the eleven be going forward or whether there will be any. Jitesh Sharma played a good cameo when he got the chance. Sanju Samson is a top-order batter and it’s an age-old debate, so I’m talking from World Cup’s standpoint."

Team India's next assignment will be the home Test series against South Africa, beginning November 14.