The BCCI revealed the Indian squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against West Indies scheduled from August 3 to 13 in the Caribbean and the United States of America on Wednesday night. While most of the selections were as expected, the exclusion of Rinku Singh has left many cricket enthusiasts baffled. Despite his outstanding performances as a finisher for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2023, the 25-year-old was disregarded by the selectors.
Rinku delivered remarkable performances this year and was undoubtedly KKR's best player by some distance. Notably, he gained recognition for his memorable five-ball-five-sixes finish against the Gujarat Titans. Throughout the tournament, Rinku consistently played under pressure and emerged triumphant more often than not, a credit to his finishing prowess in the 2023 edition.
Having scored 474 runs in 14 matches at an incredible average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.52, Rinku stood head and shoulders above all the finishers in the tournament, both from India and internationally. However, the selectors opted to include Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma in the main squad with Yashasvi Jaiswal earning his maiden call-up in the T20Is for the top-order position.
Surprisingly, the selection committee opted for batters, who usually feature in the top 4 for their respective IPL sides. They left out Rinku the finisher, whose prowess in high-pressure situations, shouldn't have been overlooked.
His exclusion also sparked angry reactions from fans, with many expressing their disappointment at his omission. Some fans even voiced concerns that Rinku might face a fate similar to Sarfaraz Khan, who despite scoring an abundance of runs in domestic cricket, has not been given an opportunity to represent the Test side.
India's T20I squad: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Surya Kumar Yadav (VC), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar