[In Picture] Rinku Singh joins India's T20 World Cup squad in New York
Rising sensation Rinku Singh has joined the Indian contingent preparing for the T20 World Cup 2024 to begin in June. The southpaw has been named in the travelling reserves and is now with the squad in New York.
Rinku took to his Instagram story to post a picture alongside teammates Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, and the trio seemed to be taking a stroll on the streets.
Click here to view Rinku Singh's Instagram story.
The Kolkata Knight Riders also posted the photo on their Instagram handle, further confirming Rinku joining the squad in New York.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), 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.
Travelling Reserves – Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
Sanjay Manjrekar expresses his surprise at Rinku Singh's exclusion
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recently shed light on the Men in Blue's 'safety first' approach in ICC events by pointing out that Rinku didn't find a place in their 15-man squad. He felt that the selectors had rewarded reputation ahead of performances for some seniors who were a part of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Here's what Manjrekar wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times:
"Given that the selectors said not much credence will be given to IPL performances while selecting the World Cup squad, it’s surprising that the last T20 WC performance of the senior batters was not a red flag. The same yard stick did not apply for Rinku Singh, who would have walked into that WC squad based on his recent T20 international performances."
Rinku has played 15 T20Is for India, scoring 356 runs at a sensational strike rate of 176.23 and a mind-blowing average of 89. His exclusion certainly caused an uproar on social media and only time will tell if the Men in Blue would regret not having a finisher like him.