Former Indian opener Abhinav Mukund praised Shubham Dubey for his vital contribution after Rajasthan Royals gave Punjab Kings their first loss of IPL 2026. The inaugural champions registered a six-wicket win against the table-toppers at New Chandigarh on Tuesday.
The left-handed Dubey, who came on as an Impact Sub, scored a fine cameo of 31 runs off just 12 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes, scoring his runs at a blistering strike rate of 258.33.
The southpaw added 77 runs off 32 balls with Donovan Ferreira, who scored a match-winning knock of 52 runs off 26 balls in the run chase of 223.
Abhinav Mukund said on ESPN Cricinfo, “It’s a very difficult role and I think a lot of Indian players get stuck in that role. [And] when they don’t get those runs, it becomes a very difficult position to actually, even for a team management, to support this particular player, and say, ‘okay, this is the guy that we’ve backed’,”. A lot of teams have the conviction to do that. Some teams don’t. I always pity these guys who have only ten balls and they have to get about 25-30 runs.
“I always felt that Rajasthan have backed Shubham Dubey, which is a very good thing. I’m glad he’s come good. Even the Lucknow game, his contribution was immense, the reason they got to 160 [159]. It was Shubham Dubey and Jadeja’s partnership [49* in 25 balls]. I think Shubham should be a starter or if the impact player is used like this, then he should be coming in more often than not now.”
Earlier, Dubey also scored a decent knock of 19 runs off 11 balls against Lucknow Super Giants.
On the other hand, former leg-spinner Piyush Chawla also praised the 31-year-old Dubey and said he ensured that RR got over the line in the run chase.
“We have seen the cameos from Shubham Dubey earlier also, when he was picked by Rajasthan Royals, in the first season itself. Then people were still talking about ‘who’s this guy’. But the way he has batted, he has shown that talent. He can play those big shots. He knows how to run the game. He has got that ability. The partnership he had with Ferreira, that was just brilliant. He actually made sure that Rajasthan got home.”
Rajasthan Royals will next take on the Delhi Capitals at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur, on Friday.
