Rinku Singh’s omission from India’s 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 has left former India keeper MSK Prasad stunned. Rinku was not named in the final squad that was announced by BCCI on May 1, but was included in the travelling reserves for the ICC event.
Rinku has no place in the final fifteen because there are already four all-rounders. However, the energetic batter will accompany the team as one of four backup players.
Former cricketers have been expressing their thoughts on Rinku’s exclusion. The latest one to join the bandwagon is former selector MSK Prasad, who picked the Indian team for the 2019 ODI World Cup.
Prasad heaped admiration on Rinku, claiming that India currently lacks a better finisher than him. He further stated that the left-hander was left out simply because the conditions in the Caribbean required an extra spinner, pushing the selectors to include Axar Patel in the squad.
“I feel all three Rinku, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were very close to getting selected. Having said that, the selectors did a good job. They were very clear that in the Caribbean and the USA, the wickets will assist the spinners during the latter part of the summer. I think that is the only reason for going for an extra spinner, Axar. That is the reason Rinku had to miss out.
See if you look at the players who fit in the role as finishers, I think there is no one better than Rinku now in India. I also feel it is a little unfortunate and hard to digest the fact Rinku has been ignored,” Prasad told RevSportz.
The T20 World Cup 2024 will take place from June 1-29 and will be played in the USA and the West Indies. India are placed in Group A along with Ireland, Canada, co-hosts USA and Pakistan. India will play their opening match against Ireland on June 5, and then will face Pakistan on June 9.
Rohit Sharma should open for India along with Yashasvi Jaiswal: MSK Prasad shares his India batting order in T20 WC
In addition to his remarks on Rinku Singh, MSK Prasad also spoke about what batting order should India go with in the T20 World Cup. He asserted that skipper Rohit Sharma should open with Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Virat Kohli coming one down.
“For me, Rohit (Sharma) and Yashasvi (Jaiswal) should open the batting for India. The reason I see the youngster opening the batting is a left-hand and right-hand combination. Virat will go in at No. 3 and Surya at No. 4 followed by Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja along with Shivam Dube,” he added.