Sourav Ganguly Predicts BIG Future For Rinku Singh After KKR Star Misses India’s Final Squad For T20 World Cup 2024
Kolkata: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly offered words of encouragement to Rinku Singh after the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter missed out on the final 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup that was announced on Tuesday (April 30). With the pitches in the Caribbean likely to be on the slower side, India decided to go with an extra spinner and that’s where Rinku might have lost his spot, felt the former BCCI president, Ganguly.
To maintain a balance in the squad, Rohit went in for four spinners and three genuine fast bowlers. Hardik Pandya will act as the fourth seamer in the squad. The batting till no. 5 looks solid with some of the biggest names in world cricket. Nevertheless, Rinku will be in USA and West Indies as one of the four travelling reserves alongside Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
“I think Rinku missed out because they wanted to go with another spinner. But Rinku is in standby, so fingers crossed. It is just the beginning of Rinku’s career. He will play a lot for India. I think he should not be disheartened with this,” Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Kolkata.
Rinku broke into the limelight in IPL 2024 with his five sixes in the final over against Gujarat Titans. He gradually became of the best finishers in the tournament and eventually earned his India cap. At the international level too, Rinku showed his class, particularly against Australia at home.
However, the southpaw didn’t much chances in IPL 2024 as Phil Salt and Sunil Narine did the bulk of scoring for KKR at the top. For India, Rinku has so far played 15 T20Is, amassing 356 runs with an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.24.
Commenting on the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024, Ganguly backed the management and Rohit to picking a ‘strong team’. “I think this is one of the fairest teams I have seen. I am not saying other teams are not fair. I think the selectors and Rohit have done a fantastic job in picking this side. But I think this is a very strong team, solid team,” he added.
Placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, USA, Canada and Ireland; India are one of the favourites in the tournament. The Me in Blue will begin their tournament against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson , Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj
Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.