India and KKR batsman Rinku Singh made his T20I debut last year in August and since then has played 15 matches for India, scoring 356 runs in 11 innings, at an average of 89 and strike rate of 176.24. These are crazy numbers, given the fact that Rinku has already played more than ten innings. You have a real finisher available but still do not take him to the most important tournament. Ignore him after having invested in him for almost a year. Calling him the best Indian finisher in last one year is no exaggeration. Out of his 356 runs, 211 runs have been scored in the over 16 to 20, in which he also averages 71 and stikes at rate of 216.
Also Read | Why Rinku Singh Was Not Picked In Team India’s Squad For T20 World Cup 2024?
Rinku is no more just a fresh face in Indian team. He has proven his worth as an India player. He worked hard to get noticed but has faced sudden snub from the selectors.
Why has Rinku been ignored?
Indian selectors are playing safe again. They do not want a first-round exit. This safe-playing attitude is the reason India have not won any ICC trophy since 2013. This squad is pretty much like the 2022 squad which made it to the semis and lost the one-sided semifinals to England.
After giving Hardik Pandya a run as captain for over a year, Rohit came back as captain earlier this year in the series vs Afghanistan. Kohli also played his first T20I since the World Cup in January. They are legends of our game but it is also true that their time is up in this format. Merely making runs does not suffice. You got to hit at a certain strike rate, which is a big issue.
Rohit’s selection can still be justified, knowing Hardik is prone to injuries. India needed an experienced captain. But why Kohli? Reports say that Rohit wants Kohli in conditions which are very new. You don’t know how the pitches are going to play in the Americas.
But Rinku is not dropped because of Kohli. But because India have picked Yuzvendra Chahal as the fourth spinner in the side. India are aiming to win the tournament on the back of strong bowling attack, which is spin-heavy, with an assumption that the pitches will be low and slow over there.
However, Chahal for Rinku is a selection call that was forced by the decision that Kohli’s selection became a no-brainer for the selectors. Somebody with strike rate in late 130s has been picked over someone with strike rate in higher side of 170s.
India now have two finishers in the form of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, both of whom are struggling for runs in IPL. Rishabh Pant has been included in the T20 World Cup team without playing a single international match. He strikes at 126 in T20Is, lowest among all batsmen in the squad.
Ideally, neither Rohit, Virat or Pant should have been in the Indian T20I squad. India needed to be brave and give the youngsters the charge. It is better to exit the tournament in the first round itself with a squad filled with T20 specialists than go to semifinals with a safe approach with same-old players and crash out. It seems there was no learning from 2021, 2022.