Rinku Singh’s World Cup Snub: Lack of Opportunities, IPL Form Cited by India Legend
Rinku Singh’s omission from the 15-man Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup surprised former all-rounder Irfan Pathan and former Australia skipper Aaron Finch but legend Sunil Gavaskar blamed the left-handed batsman’s form in the ongoing IPL. . The BCCI on Tuesday announced the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June, keeping hard-hitting middle-order batsmen Shubman Gill, Khalil Ahmed and reserves who have played 15 T20Is. Avesh Khan.
India squad for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice captain), Yashwi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khalil Ahmed and Avesh Khan
Pathan was one of the most vocal former players after the announcement, opining on X (formerly Twitter) that “Rinku’s recent past performances for Team India should not be overlooked.” Former Australia white-ball captain Finch said he was “surprised” the BCCI selectors chose four spinners in the squad and not Rinku. “I was surprised by the four spinners. I had Rinku and just two spinners there,” Finch said on TV. West Indian great Ian Bishop also expressed surprise at Rinku’s exclusion, saying, “So, if you are talking about surprises, I think Rinku Singh has done enough in international cricket. He has averaged over 60 or 70 in T20Is to finish in the 15th.
“So, that’s the only thing that stuck my ears out. So I’m just saying that an extra spinner like Axar (Patel) is preferred over Rinku,” Bishop added. However, Gavaskar felt that the KKR star’s form in the ongoing IPL was the reason for his exclusion from the main squad. “Perhaps his form has not been great in this particular edition of IPL. He hasn’t had that many chances, maybe that’s why they (selectors) haven’t picked him,” Gavaskar told the media.
