Despite his impressive performances for Team India, Rinku Singh was surprisingly omitted from the nation’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad. However, the young batsman has revealed the encouraging words he received from captain Rohit Sharma after the setback.
“He (Rohit Sharma) came to me and said that it is okay, I’m still young, and there are many more tournaments to come. There is a World Cup every two years, so I shouldn’t be disappointed by this but focus on my game instead,” Rinku said in an interview.
Despite winning the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rinku was left out as India opted for four spin options. However, he was included as a traveling reserve.
Immediately after the tournament, Rinku was included in India’s T20I tour of Zimbabwe, where he played in every game as a middle-order batter. He then starred in the T20I series in Sri Lanka, impressing with the ball by picking up two wickets in the penultimate over of the final T20I to turn the game in India’s favor.
Presently, Rinku boasts an average of nearly 60 and a strike rate of 174 in 17 T20I innings for India. Remarkably, he has remained not out in 10 of those innings.
Rinku also acknowledged Virat Kohli’s style of leadership. “I like Virat Kohli as well because aggression is very important while leading a team. So, his captaincy was also very good,” he said.
Rinku had recently expressed his desire to play for Kohli’s franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) if he is not retained by KKR.
Currently, Rinku is playing in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League (UP T20), where he is captaining Meerut Mavericks. He has not been included in any of the four squads for the Duleep Trophy to be held in September.
