"He'll need a longer rope" - KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar backs Rinku Singh as Team India's permanent finisher
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Abhishek Nayar touted middle-order batter Rinku Singh as the definite option for the role of finisher in India's white-ball setup.
While the talented 25-year-old was snubbed for the ongoing T20I series against West Indies, Rinku made his way to the Indian squad for the T20I rubber against Ireland and the Asian Games 2023. The southpaw was in red-hot form in IPL 2023 for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), smashing 474 runs at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.53.
Speaking to the Republic World on the potential finisher for Team India, Nayar backed Rinku Singh but added that the role requires complete backing and a longer rope.
"There are multiple players who can achieve that. There is one player, Rinku Singh who played the role of a finisher really well for KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) in the 16th edition of the IPL. He has also played that role in domestic cricket, but in my opinion he'll still need some more time, he'll need a longer rope, he needs to be backed," said Nayar.
Nayar further stated that while Tilak Varma is impressive up the order, Rinku is the only one currently who serves the purpose of finishing the innings.
"Being a finisher is very tough and you'll have more failures than success while taking that responsibility. It requires a lot of experience. Tilak Varma has proved his mettle up the order and he is terrific at number 4 but the only name that comes to my mind and I say it clearly without any bias is Rinku Singh," added Nayar.
"I have seen this Indian kid do so well as a finisher. He has this unique capability of going in and consistently hitting big sixes. He is not one of the biggest blokes. He can play that role really well, but he will need that long rope," concluded Nayar.
Apart from his heroics in the IPL, Rinku Singh also boasts impressive numbers in first-class and List-A cricket.
The youngster averages almost 58 in the domestic red-ball format with over 3,000 runs and nearly 50 in the List-A format for Uttar Pradesh.
"That's a brave question" - Abhishek Nayar on Shubman Gill being let go by KKR
Abhishek Nayar also chose not to comment on the reasoning for letting Shubman Gill walk away from the KKR setup ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.
Gill played for four seasons between 2018 and 2021 for the franchise, with the final two years yielding more than 400 runs each. However, the elegant right-hander was picked up by Gujarat Titans ahead of the 2022 season and has blossomed into arguably the best batter of the IPL since.
When asked about KKR not resigning Gill, Nayar replied:
"Woah, that's a brave question. These are very internal matters and they remain within the franchise so I choose not to talk about that."
The 23-year-old had an impressive 2022 season with 483 runs at an average of 34.50, helping the Gujarat Titans win the title in their inaugural IPL season.
However, Gill took his batting to stratospheric levels in the 2023 season, finishing as the leading run-scorer with an incredible 890 runs at a strike rate of 157.80, including three centuries.