The Indian cricket team for the 2024 T20 World Cup is out. A day before the deadline to name the squad, the BCCI selectors and secretary Jay Shah met to make the final call on the chosen 15. Sure shot picks like captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav were named, whereas there was some surprises too. Veteran wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul did not find a berth, while Shubman Gill, arguably India's best find in the last couple of years, was ignored too. He was named in the reserves.
However, the biggest name missing from the list was Rinku Singh. When Rinku emerged with a great performance at the IPL 2023, all thought he was India's answer to finishing troubles in T20s. He made his India debut too after the tournament and did well. However, in the IPL 2024, the lack of game-time in KKR may have harmed him. But he was not polaced in the top-15 in the T20 WC squad and is a reserve.
After the decision, former Indian cricket team star opener Navjot Singh Sidhu, wrote on X: "Rinku Singh, the only finisher in Indian cricket who can fill the void left by the great Dhoni ! #Rinkusingh"
"I think Rinku Singh's recent past performance for Team India shouldn't have been ignored," wrote Irfan Pathan on X.
Harbhajan stated that Rinku should have been included in the squad as he possess the ability to change the complexion of the game on his own.
"I feel Rinku Singh should have been included in the team, a player who has the potential to change the game on his own and has not been included in the team is Rinku," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
India's squad for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 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.
Reserves - Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan