Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has sparked a debate over the treatment of Rinku Singh by Team India. Chopra has questioned the team’s strategy of placing Rinku lower in the batting order, suggesting that he should be given the opportunity to bat at number four instead of number six.
Chopra believes that Rinku has not been given the optimal platform to showcase his capabilities. “Are we being fair to Rinku? It’s a very important question,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel. “He was in your team against Bangladesh and before that as well. Whenever you have sent him up the order or he has got to bat in the powerplay, he has scored runs every time.”
Chopra emphasized that Rinku has consistently performed well when given more overs to bat. He highlighted that the left-hander has emerged as a reliable player for India in critical situations, scoring crucial runs at a commendable strike rate. “He has scored a half-century every time. He has emerged as a crisis man. He scored those half-centuries at very good strike rates,” Chopra added.
Rinku, having scored 490 runs at a strike rate of 173.14 in 20 T20I innings, remains a promising prospect for India. Chopra proposed that Tilak Varma could have been shifted to the number six position, allowing Rinku to bat at number four and affording him more time to settle in and make a significant contribution.
“I feel you could have played him at No. 4 in Durban. In fact, you could have done that in this entire series and moved Tilak Varma down because someone has to go at No. 6,” he explained.
While acknowledging Rinku’s finishing abilities, Chopra pointed out that the 27-year-old doesn’t fit the mold of a typical power-hitter like Andre Russell or Hardik Pandya. He believes that Rinku’s batting style, which prioritizes timing over sheer power, would be more effective if he were given a higher batting position.
“I am asking this question only because Rinku can finish but he is not just a finisher. This is my understanding. I feel he knows how to drive the game. He is hitting sixes but he is not someone who muscles the ball. He is not Andre Russell and he is not Hardik Pandya as well,” Chopra said.
