One of the most prolific batters from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season, Rinku Singh found no place in the Indian squad as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC) announced the squad for the T20I series against West Indies. Rinku, who finished the IPL campaign for Kolkata Knight Riders with 474 runs to his name at an average of 59.25 and a strike-rate of 149.52, was expected to be rewarded for his heroics but the selectors had other ideas.
The BCCI did give maiden call-ups to a few young guns, including Mumbai Indians' Tilak Varma. Seeing Tilak being preferred over Rinku in the squad, however, some fans weren't happy.
Taking to Twitter, many fans wrote 'Justice for Rinku Singh' as the criticised the BCCI selection committee for snubbing the talented finisher.
Senior members like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, etc. weren't picked as the BCCI announced the squad for the T20Is against Windies.
The side led by Hardik has a youthful look to it with the only player above 30 being world No.1 batter and team's vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav.
The only new face in the team is Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians left-hander Tilak Varma, who had made a strong case for himself during the past two IPL seasons batting in the middle-order and donning the role of a finisher with a strike-rate of 142-plus in 47 IPL and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is set to make his Test debut next week, is also a part of the T20 squad after a stupendous IPL.
Rinku, whose finishing skills at Nos 5 or 6 for KKR in IPL have impressed one and all, didn't figure in the 15-member squad but it is understood that with only a week's gap between the West Indies series and Ireland T20Is, there is a high possibility that both Rinku and Vidarbha's Jitesh Sharma will make that team along with Ruturaj Gaikwad.
With PTI inputs