NEW DELHI: Indian cricket fans were stumped to discover that star all-rounder Shivam Dube could have been travelling incognito on a train with them, fresh from delivering a record third T20 World Cup crown.
Dube, who slammed an unbeaten 26 off just 8 balls in Sunday’s final against New Zealand, was left stranded in Ahmedabad on Monday when flights to Mumbai were booked solid.
It meant he took a berth in a shared sleeper train for a seven-hour journey home – something almost unheard of in India, where top cricketers are major celebrities and often mobbed by fans when they appear in public.
Dube told the Indian Express on Wednesday that he went to great lengths to get back to his son, 4, and daughter, 2, cobbling together a disguise to avoid detection from fellow passengers.
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“I wore a cap, a mask, and a full-sleeved t-shirt,” the 32-year-old told the newspaper.
As he snuck onto the train with his wife and a friend in tow, Dube clambered onto the top bunk of his assigned carriage and wrapped himself in a blanket to remain concealed for the duration of the trip.
His cover was nearly blown however when an unwitting ticket collector asked if he’d just spotted the T20 hero, before being distracted by Dube’s wife.
As the journey finished Dube said he was escorted by police so “things were easy and the exit was smooth”.
“They thought I was landing at the airport, but were surprised when I told them that I was travelling by train.”
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