Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 20 (ANI): India bowling coach Morne Morkel hailed star all-rounder Shivam Dube's growth as a bowler, saying it comes from confidence and team backing from the captain, coach, and staff support.

Morkel believes Dube no longer feels pressured to prove himself, letting his natural skill, hard-hitting mitt, and smart variations shine. He reads conditions well, uses his power-hitter insight to pick tough deliveries, and provides control and wicket-taking potential, even if he occasionally concedes a boundary.

Morkel was talking to the reporters in Ahmedabad on Friday, where the Indian team is scheduled to play their first Super 8 fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup against last season's runner-up South Africa on February 22.

'With Shivam, I think any bowler, we like confidence. You want to feel the backing. This journey started almost more than a year ago, when we gave him the responsibility to bowl for us in Dubai and take you back to Dubai to bowl the first over. I think as soon as you feel in that environment, you feel that you get backed by, first, the captain, the coach, and the staff. From there, life becomes a little bit easier. You don't have to try to prove yourself. You don't have to try too hard,' Morkel said.

'He's got a lot of skill with the ball, with variations. I believe when I catch him, he hits the mitt quite hard. For him, it was just a matter of building that confidence and polishing up on when to use his variations. I think he has a very good understanding of conditions. He can read the conditions very well. As a power hitter himself, he will work out what is the toughest ball to bowl,' Morkel added.

'I think having that game sense and just giving him the backing and to say, listen, if you go for the boundary, it's okay. You have a potential guy who can pick that wicket fast. He can bring us control with the ball in terms of his execution,' Morkel concluded.

Dube has developed his skills as a seamer in recent times. From 2024, in 41 matches for India in T20s Dube has scalped 23 wickets at an average of 20.17 and an economy rate of 8.78.

Dube's explosive 31-ball 66 and his two wickets earned him the 'Player of the Match' award in a 17-run win over the Netherlands at Ahmedabad in India's last group stage fixture.

When he came in at 110/4 in the 14th over, his team needed acceleration, and his knock pushed them to a competitive total of 190-odd runs. (ANI)