Shivam Dube boards AC 3-Tier train after T20 WC win:Indian star took upper berth, was almost ‘caught’ by ticket checker

Shivam Dube pulled off an amazing disguise to travel back home from Ahmedabad on a train after India’s T20 World Cup win. India scripted history on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium when the Men in Blue thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs to win a record third T20 World Cup title. Dube was among the unsung heroes in India’s T20 World Cup triumph. The explosive batter made crucial contributions down the order on a number of occasions throughout the campaign, something that drove India to big scores, especially in the knockouts. Why did Shivam Dube take a train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad? Cricketers generally board flights for home after a tournament or any other international assignment. And Dube too looked for flights to travel back to Mumbai from Ahmedabad, but there weren’t any available, according to The Indian Express. The all-rounder explained the rationale behind taking the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Sayaji Express, while there was an option to return home via road as well. “There was no flight available, so I decided to take a train from Ahmedabad early in the morning to Mumbai. We could have gone by road, but the train was faster,” he said, as quoted by the publication. Furthermore, The Indian Express report described how Dube took a disguise so that he could not be recognised by fans. Travelling by train poses an obvious chance of being identified, which would then lead to him being mobbed by fans. “Me, my wife and a friend decided to take a train. 3rd AC tickets were available, so we decided to book them. Everyone we spoke to was worried, family and friends. What if someone recognised me at the station or inside the train?” Dube said. He further added, “I wore a cap, a mask and a full-sleeved T-shirt. It was a 5:10 am train, so we hoped there would not be many people on the platform,” he said. But after finding out that there were a lot of fans still at the station, Dube planned to wait in his car minutes before the train departed and board the train in a rush so that he could not be recognised. Shivam Dube was almost ‘caught’ by ticket checker While Dube managed to maintain his disguise as a commoner by covering himself with a blanket after boarding the upper berth of the train, he was close to being caught by the ticket checker. The ticket checker saw his name and almost figured out that he was the cricketer. “Shivam Dube? Woh kaun hai, cricketer? (Is he the cricketer?)” Shivam’s wife Anjum, tackled the situation, saying that he wasn’t the cricketer but someone else. “No, no. Woh kahan se aayega (where will he come from)?,” she said to the ticket checker before he went away. Dube further went on to add that the train ride was smooth and passengers did not realise that it was him. “At night, I got down from the berth, but no one recognised me on the way to the washroom and back. The train trip was smooth, but I was worried about getting down at Borivali in broad daylight. I couldn’t have escaped attention there,” he said as quoted by The Indian Express. The Indian cricketer, however, required the police’s help upon reaching Borivali, where he feared he might be recognised. Shivam Dube’s T20 World Cup campaign Dube was one of the most important players in India’s T20 World Cup title win. The left-hander often came down the order and on occasions, even batted above to provide the finishing touches in India’s innings. The left-hander’s best performance came against Netherlands,, where he smashed 66 runs off just 31 balls. In the final, he smashed 26 runs off just eight deliveries to power India to 255/5, a total which was comfortably a match-winning one. with Overall, he scored 235 runs in nine matches at a blistering strike-rate of 169.06 at the T20 World Cup.