Rinku Singh being left out of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad has left former India captain Kris Srikkanth very agitated. The BCCI selection panel named the Indian squad for the ICC event on April 30 which saw 15 players being chosen for the final squad.
However, Rinku Singh’s name was missing from the list, but he was added to the four reserve players along with Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed.
Rinku Singh made an impressive debut in the IPL 2023 season, hitting five consecutive sixes in the penultimate over against GT to win a dramatic victory for KKR. His steady run-scoring propelled him into contention for a berth on the Indian squad, and he eventually received the coveted call-up.
Rinku Singh has an impressive track record for India in T20Is, scoring 359 runs at an average of 89 in 15 games. Even more unexpected is his stunning rate of 176, which demonstrates his ability to score fast and decisively.
These impressive numbers would earn selection for anyone, but Singh was caught up in a fierce struggle for a berth in Team India’s lineup.
“Rinku Singh should have been there”- Kris Srikkanth
Former cricketer Kris Srikkanth was outspoken in his criticism of the Indian selection committee’s decision to remove Rinku Singh from India’s T20 World Cup roster, calling it “rubbish” and claiming that the KKR batter had been unfairly blamed.
“I am not at all happy. C’mon all of you. Rinku Singh has been spoken about all over the world. He has performed in each and every opportunity he has got.
“How can you drop Rinku Singh? You drop anyone else, it doesn’t matter. In my view, Rinku Singh should have been there, even if that meant you had to drop Yashasvi Jaiswal,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth even highlighted Rinku’s amazing knock against Afghanistan in a T20I recently, when he made 70 in 39 balls, rescuing India from 22/4 and took them to 212/4, with Rohit Sharma scoring a brilliant century.
Srikkanth questioned the logic of eliminating Rinku while keeping four spinners, implying that the decision may have been influenced by motives other than merit.
“He has played match-winning knocks in South Africa. Remember the game against Afghanistan in which Rohit scored a hundred? India were 22 for 4, from there, they scored 212.
“Rinku played a crucial Knock. He has given his all whenever he played for India. This is rubbish, rubbish selection. Why do you need 4 spinners? All of them have to go? You have made the selection to please a few people and you have made Rinku Singh a scapegoat,” Srikkanth added.
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