India has been without its powerful lower-middle-order batter, Rinku Singh, since the opening game of the five-match T20I series against England, which took place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata last week. The lack of power in that department was witnessed in the second game of the series in Chennai when the batting line-up struggled to chase 166 in the second innings.
It was the same case in the third game of the series at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. England set a target of 172 runs on a slow surface. India kept on losing wickets in the wrong periods of the chase, as they finished on 145/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Hardik Pandya tried hard for his 40 runs in 35 balls but couldn’t carry the side over the line.
The blue brigade was hurt by the absence of Rinku, who could have proved some solidity at number six. Washington Sundar came in place of the left-handed batter but didn’t contribute as an all-rounder in the encounter. He bowled just a couple of overs and batted too low in the department. The same case happened with the spare wicket-keeper batter of the side, Dhruv Jurel, who was denied singles in the death overs by Pandya.
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India has been hoping to get Rinku back in full shape. The Uttar Pradesh-born has managed 507 runs in 22 T20I innings at an average of 46.09 and a strike rate of 165.14 with the help of three half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 69 runs. He enjoyed a terrific season in 2024 during the Indian Premier League with 168 runs in 11 innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders at a strike rate of around 150.
Ryan Ten Doeschate reveals Gautam Gambhir’s coaching philosophy for India in T20Is
He was rested for the second and third encounters after suffering back spasms. With Nitish Reddy getting injured and out of the whole series, India’s team management decided to add Shivam Dube and Ramandeep Singh to the squad.
On the eve of the fourth T20I clash of the series, India’s assistant coach, Ryan Ten Doeschate, provided a vital update on the fitness of the batter during the pre-match press conference.
“Rinku is fit. He played the first game, hurt himself, and missed the next two. But I would imagine Rinku coming back in as soon as he’s a proper fit. He batted the other night, and I think he’ll be ready to go tomorrow.” The former Netherlands all-rounder expressed in the presser.
The veteran also leaked the philosophy of their head coach, Gautam Gambhir, which is to carry at least eight batters in the shortest format. This trend is unlikely to change soon.
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“You could argue that we don’t want Dhruv Jurel batting at number 8. But I also think if you look at the blueprint of any of Gambhir’s teams that he has coached since he’s been coaching T20 cricket, it is a big part of how he likes to set up.” India’s assistant coach highlighted.
“Particularly the other night, like I said, with Dhruv coming in at 8, I don’t think we got to see the best of him. But we do believe that it’s a big part of strategy in these games. Again, going back to my point, we want to give guys enough opportunity to show how good they are because we believe in the medium to long term, guys will show how good they are.” The 44-year-old concluded.
Rinku Singh has cracked 2976 T20 runs in 129 innings at an average of 35.01 and a strike rate of 148.28, thanks to 17 half-centuries at the best score of 79.