Former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth expressed strong disapproval of the Indian selection committee’s decision to omit Rinku Singh from the 15-member squad for the upcoming World Cup 2024. Despite Rinku’s impressive performances, including his T20 debut in 2023 where he scored 356 runs across 15 matches at a strike rate of 176.24, he was not selected for the main squad.
On his official YouTube channel, Srikkanth highlighted Rinku’s significant contributions, particularly his unbeaten 69-run knock against Afghanistan in January 2024. He criticized the selection as “rubbish,” questioning the necessity of selecting four spinners for the team. “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 argued.
The former India captain further emphasized that Rinku deserved a spot on the team, stating, “I am not at all happy. Come on 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.”
Despite his omission from the main squad, Rinku Singh, along with Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan, has been named as a reserved player. India, with added star power like Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson as wicket-keepers, and Virat Kohli, will begin their T20 World Cup campaign in June, facing teams like Ireland, Pakistan, the USA, and Canada in Group A.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (Wk), Sanju Samson (Wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
