"I won't say it's the end of the road for him" - S Badrinath's huge statement on 33-year-old amid NZ vs IND 2026 T20Is

Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath believes veteran all-rounder Shivam Dube will struggle to return to the playing XI, thanks to Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir’s impressive performances in the ongoing T20I series in New Zealand. Nitish has delivered some timely overs with the ball, and scored a match-winning 26* off 13 deliveries in the second T20I.

Meanwhile, Naman Dhir has made game-changing batting contributions in both matches thus far, scoring 73 runs at a strike rate of over 228. While he has bowled only one over in this series, Naman Dhir starred in the previous T20I series against the West Indies, taking five wickets in four innings.

Despite being in the squad, Dube has warmed the bench in both T20Is against the Kiwis.

Talking about Dube's T20I future, Badrinath said on his YouTube channel, Cric it with Badri (5:20):

"I won't say it's the end of the road for him, considering the possibilities of injuries to others. But it'll be very difficult for him to break into the playing 11 again. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir are fitting into the same category very well. They bowl, bat, and are excellent fielders. These two are multidimensional, especially with their fielding."

He added:

"Meanwhile, Dube is somewhat single-dimensional. He can smash spinners and give two overs of bowling. And fielding is terrible. Fielding and fitness is where Dube takes a hit. So it's going to be hard for him to return to the 11."

Dube was an integral part of India's back-to-back T20 World Cup-winning sides in 2024 and 2026.

"His knock was underrated in the second T20I" - S Badrinath on Naman Dhir

Subramaniam Badrinath praised Naman Dhir for his underrated cameo in the second T20I against New Zealand. Chasing 181, the Men in Blue were reeling at 70/5 in the 11th over when Naman Dhir walked in to bat.

The 26-year-old scored a quickfire 31 off 17 balls to turn the tide in India's favor, before Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy sealed the deal with an unbeaten 69-run partnership off 30 deliveries.

"His (Naman Dhir) knock was underrated in the second T20I. It came when the situation was tough. Even Tilak Varma acknowledged it after the game. And he bowls off-spin as well," said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

Naman Dhir debuted for India in their previous white-ball series against the West Indies. However, he has impressed with bat and ball in his limited ODIs and T20Is, with a batting strike rate of over 200 and six wickets.

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