Rinku Singh At T20 World Cup 2024 – Who Says No?
Rinku Singh was named Player of the Match in India's 2nd T20I vs Ireland (BCCI Twitter)
Some things never change in India. When an exciting prospect gets a shot on the international circuit and succeeds right away, the buzz around him goes berserk. Rinku Singh is the most recent name on this invigorating list following his heroics against Ireland on Sunday (August 20).
Rinku was aware of the fervent anticipation among tens of thousands of die-hard Indian cricket fans for his valiant performance. The 25-year-old completely surpassed their expectations, slamming an explosive 21-ball 38 with the help of three sixes and two fours. The southpaw eventually received the Player of the Match award, an honor he might have long fantasized about getting after his debut innings.
What lies ahead for Rinku? He would obviously love to keep the momentum going against Ireland in the third and final game if given the chance to bat. Then, what next? The Asia Cup and ODI World Cup are coming up, so the 50-over format will now be the only thing on everyone's mind. Therefore, there is a good chance that Rinku's dazzling cameo will be forgotten quickly.
When will Rinku Singh be back in India's colours after the Ireland series?
If everything goes as planned, Rinku will rejoin the Indian team in November for a five-match home T20I series against Australia. The Men in Blue will then tour South Africa, where there are three T20Is that Rinku is expected to play. Why so? When there are so many candidates for the position, why does Rinku have so many opportunities to succeed in T20s? Now, please, let us use common sense.
Hardik Pandya was India's lone finisher in the previous three consecutive T20 World Cups. What did he accomplish? Nothing up to his lofty standards of magnificence. More significantly, as his numbers suggest, the dashing all-arounder no longer plays in his naturally aggressive style in 2023. He has a questionable strike rate of 110.58 after 10 innings, having aggregated 188 runs at an average of 23.50.
Surely, you can’t rely on Hardik, the finisher, any longer, can you?
| Event | Finisher for India | Innings | Runs | Strike rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 T20 World Cup | Hardik Pandya | 5 | 128 | 131.95 |
| 2021 T20 World Cup | Hardik Pandya | 3 | 69 | 153.33 |
| 2016 T20 World Cup | Hardik Pandya | 2 | 16 | 114.28 |
What value can Rinku Singh add over the next few years?
Hardik is currently in dire need of Rinku's assistance. The time has come for Rinku to perform, as Hardik’s naturally aggressive batting style no longer shows up on the field week in and week out.
At the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies, there may be discussions about whether prolific youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill could replace KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. However, Rinku does not have any competition for the position, so Hardik's switch-up in batting strategy has actually worked out well for him.
In conclusion, Rinku is without a doubt the finisher India have been searching for for more than a decade. There is no obstacle that Rinku cannot overcome, despite the stark differences between the conditions in Ireland and the West Indies.
There will be a few failures, as cricket is a game, of course. However, India will only lose if they decide to disregard Rinku after a few setbacks. Rinku should stay in order to put an end to their 17-year T20 World Cup drought—they have not seen an aggressive finisher with such unwavering confidence in a while.
The call is yours, BCCI.
 "Ritam")
