Will Rinku's absence deprive India of a finisher?

Will Rinku’s absence deprive India of a finisher?

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This T20 World Cup India team is left-oriented. Right from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh, the team is loaded with left-handers. Even in the reserves – there are two lefties – Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed. But no one in the wildest of dreams would have imagined Rinku Singh missing out on the 15-member T20 World Cup team. Virat Kohli coming down the order at his regulation one-down would mean Rinku not getting a chance to be in the XI, but not having Rinku wasn’t a killer move at all. So, what if the selectors have picked Shivam in place of Rinku? Does it solve the riddle of hard hitters who can finish games?

Before IPL 2024, Rinku was dubbed as the most dangerous batter with limited deliveries left in an innings. The emergence of internationally inexperienced Shashank Singh and not-so-in-great-form Rinku did a lot of good to Dube, who is yet to establish himself as a batting all-rounder. The choice of Dube is so interesting that even the team management won’t be tempted to make him play at all because captain Rohit Sharma will prefer a left-right opening combination with Jaiswal.

That brings Kohli back to his original position No. 3. What happens if Kohli opens the innings? With Kohli slowing down a little after the first power-play while playing for the Royal Challengers, it will be interesting to see how the star cricketer copes with the demand of his team to play with a healthy strike-rate. But the one who could have given India a little momentum with the bat in the middle-order, Rinku is utterly disappointed, and rightly so.

Rishabh Pant is one cricketer who would have to soak under a lot of pressure to hit the ball and finish games in the absence of Rinku. But the presence of Sanju Samson would do a world of good to the middle order if he is made to play after the way he is batting in the ongoing IPL. Bowling wise also, the selectors went ahead with a tried and tested format with Jasprit Bumrah, who is India’s premier bowler, along with Arshdeep and Mohammad Siraj. Fortunately, Yuzi Chahal didn’t have to spend money on his PR for coming back into the team. The selectors have always debated how Jadeja and Axar are similar kinds of cricketers — still they were picked. But the best news of the team is the comeback of Kulcha – Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal. Hope they get to play together this time!