Rinku Singh’s exclusion from India’s T20 World Cup squad has irked many fans and experts alike. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter’s father has said that sweets and crackers were bought in anticipation of Rinku’s inclusion in the World Cup squad. However, things did not go as expected.
While Rinku is not a part of the Final 15, he is among the reserves announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The squad was announced on April 30, just before the deadline of May 1, as set by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Rinku’s exclusion comes as a shock to the family, maybe because he was a part of India’s squad when the Men in Blue played T20I the last time. In fact, in the last T20I match played by India, Rinku scored 39-ball 69 against Afghanistan in Bengaluru.
In fact, he was the only player other than captain Rohit Sharma (121 off 69 balls) who scored for India. Every other batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson, scored in single-digits. Rinku was not dismissed in the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan in January 2023.
IPL 2024 has not been ideal for Rinku Singh. KKR have been using him as a finisher, leaving hardly any opportunities for him to score big. In 9 matches, he has scored 123 runs with a strike rate of 150.00.
Can Rinku do an Ashwin?
While the deadline to announce the squad is May 1, the final date to make changes to the squad is May 25. So, there is still hope for Rinku Singh.
Everyone remembers what happened with Ravichandran Ashwin before the ODI World Cup last year. He did not make it to India’s squad, while Axar Patel was preferred. However, Patel could not recover from his injury in time. Ashwin became a wild-card entry for India.
With at least three more weeks to go, anything is possible. Moreover, the BCCI will likely take the reserve players alongside the Final 15 since it’s a World Cup, and nothing is left to chance.
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Published: 01 May 2024, 05:36 PM IST