Former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan believes that young Indian finisher Rinku Singh will be ready for the three-match T20 series against South Africa in away conditions. The Men in Blue will play their first game against Proteas on December 10th in Durban.
Rinku Singh has been an important player of the team’s lower-middle order since his T20 debut for the country, where he produced a couple of brilliant knocks under pressure to lead the Men in Blue to victory against quality opponents and the southpaw had an excellent time with Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023 finishing the game from almost impossible situations.
Irfan Pathan was asked on the Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’ whether the T20Is against South Africa will be the toughest test for Rinku Singh, The former India all-rounder believes the left-handed finisher would have considerable domestic experience which would serve him in the overseas conditions.
“I think he will enjoy the bounce and pace of the ball because he is the kind of cricketer who likes to face fast bowling. I really think he is a guy who is ready. Especially being a left-hander and especially being a free-flowing player will help.”
“He is extremely impressive. When a guy has done the hard yards in domestic cricket and waited for his chance to come good in the IPL, that means he has a lot of experience. He knows how to take those chances, that will come his way, with both hands,” Irfan Pathan said.
Rinku Singh was a consistent performer for his teams in IPL and domestic cricket, featuring in every game and scoring key runs at the end of innings. In the final overs, he gave his team much-needed momentum and completed the chase against quality bowling attacks.
They Backed Him And Now They Are Getting The Results – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan stated that while Rinku Singh has recently shown his worth in international cricket, he has been delivering in local cricket for a long time and that the Uttar Pradesh player had to put in the hard yards to force his way into the franchise’s playing XI.
“We are seeing him getting results lately, he is playing for the Indian team and finished a very good game for the Indian team recently, and his name has been doing the rounds for the last little while, but don’t forget that he has been playing first-class cricket and List A cricket for many years.”
“He has put in a lot of effort. It wasn’t that he got his place in the IPL as soon as he came in. He used to play just as a fielder and then the team liked him. They backed him and now they are getting the results,” Irfan Pathan added.
After putting up several outstanding shows for Uttar Pradesh, Rinku Singh lit up the IPL stage in 2023. The youngster made his debut for the Indian team against Ireland in August and impressed everyone with his skillset on the bigger stage. The left-handed finisher would be keen to continue their fine form going forward.
