"Selecting Dube over Rinku is a bigger crime than selecting Vijay Shankar" - KKR batter trends on X after Shivam Dube's poor return in IND vs PAK game
Young Team India batter Rinku Singh was trending on social media after Shivam Dube returned cheaply in an all-important game against Pakistan on Sunday, June 9. Rinku was named in the standby list after the selection committee left him out of the main 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Dube was picked ahead of Rinku for the mega event based on his IPL 2024 form. The Chennai Super Kings all-rounder smacked 396 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 162.30. It is worth noting that most of his runs came in the first half of the tournament, as he struggled to get going in the last five games.
However, the all-rounder has failed to replicate his performance in the Indian colors so far. Shivam Dube scored only 14 runs in the warm-up game against Bangladesh. He managed only three off nine balls in the high-octane clash against Pakistan. He got out after giving an easy return catch to Naseem Shah.
Fans online targeted the Indian selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar for picking Shivam Dube over Rinku Singh. It was worth noting that, the management prepared Rinku for the finisher's role over the last 12 months. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cricketer also responded well to the role, amassing 356 runs in 11 innings at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.23.
Here are some reactions:
"You miss the sun when it starts to snow. They chose this mug dube over Rinku singh," a fan wrote on X while taking a dig at the selection committee.
"Rinku Singh over Shivam Dube Any Day. Not sure what selection committee was thinking," wrote another fan.
"Just a reminder : They dropped Rinku singh for Shivam Dube. Yes this team management along with Ajit Agarkar Just saying," chimed another fan on X.
"Selecting Dube over Rinku is a bigger crime than selecting Vijay Shankar over Rayudu," another fan expressed himself.
"It's not his fault that he has missed out" - Ajit Agarkar on Rinku Singh not being part of T20 World Cup squad
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar sympathized with Rinku after he was left out of the T20 World Cup squad. The former all-rounder asserted that the youngster didn't do any wrong and it was more about combination and having plenty of bowling options in the side.
"It's just unfortunate," Agarkar told reporters. "I don't think it has anything to do with Rinku Singh. It's not his fault that he has missed out. It's more the 15 that we felt gives with two keepers who are already terrific batters. So we just thought having another bowling option would be handy.
"He is still one of the traveling subs. That's how close he was. It's a little bit tough on him. At the end of the day, you only pick 15."
Should Rinku Singh deserve to be in India's T20 World Cup squad? Let us know in the comments.