The anticipation for the T20 World Cup 2024 has grown and it won’t be a misleading statement to say that it is at its peak, ahead of the tournament starter on June 1. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Team India’s T20 World Cup squad, which certainly didn’t have any surprise elements, but it certainly had some shocking omissions.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee on Tuesday (April 30) revealed Team India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA. The 15-member squad will be led by Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, who will act as the deputy.
The likes of Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Mohammad Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal among others have all made it to the final squad to travel to the other continent for the World Cup event.
However, what sparked a controversy was the omission of Rinku Singh, who was anticipated to be in the final 15-member squad for Team India. The fans felt a bit of a shock as they couldn’t comprehend the rationale for excluding Rinku Singh, who has been in such magnificent form in T20s over the last few months.
Not just the fans, some experts have indicated that given his powerful performances in the colours of Team India, the batter shouldn’t have been ignored by the selectors.
However, it’s noteworthy that Rinku Singh has been named in the reserve player list. India’s four-member reserve list includes Rinku Singh with Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmad.
Talking about the stats and performances, Rinku Singh has been on song as far as his international career is concerned. After making his T20I debut against Ireland in 2023, Rinku has gone on to play 15 T20Is in which he has amassed 356 runs at an average of 89. The batter boasts an impressive strike rate of 176.24 in his short career.
Despite doing so well internationally, his exclusion was certainly a shock. However, the decision to not have him in Team India’s main squad might have stemmed from his current form in the IPL 2024, which hasn’t been great.
The KKR batter has just secured 123 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 150, which is quite low to his usual standards.
However, the debate has picked the fire among the netizens, who seem to be upset with the Indian selectors. The fans took to X (formerly Twitter) in support of the batter and did a series of tweets.
“Sorry Rinku Singh done everything in T20I for India in the toughest position in the last one year but not in the World Cup squad. We’ve failed you. Rinku Singh deserves a chance in team India,” wrote a Twitter user.
Below are a few of them:
Team India’s T20 World Cup Squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Rishabh Pant (WK), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.