File photo of Rinku Singh© AFP
The omission of Rinku Singh from India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 came as a shock for both fans and several experts. The left-handed batter showed phenomenal form for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024 and since making his T20I debut for India, he has constantly performed with the bat and in the field. Rinku was not added in the 15-member squad but he did find a place in the reserves along with Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed. Rinku’s father Khanchandra Singh opened up about his son’s exclusion from the squad and said that there was ‘sadness’ over what happened.
“Umeedein to bohot thi aur isliye thoda dukh bhi hai. Hum mithai, patakhe laye the, socha that wo 11 mein khelega. (There was hope and that is why there is a bit of sadness. We brought sweets, crackers to celebrate, we thought Rinku would play in the first eleven),” he said in aninterview with Bharat 24.
When asked about how Rinku is feeling at the moment, his father revealed that the KKR star is a bit heartbroken and he earlier called his mother to inform her about him not being part of the World Cup squad.
“Uska dil toh tuta hai. Usne apni maa se baat ki aur bataya ki uska naam nahi hai 11 ya 15 mein. Lekin bataya hain ke wo jaa raha hain (He is heartbroken. He spoke to his mother and told her that he was not picked in the 11 or 15. But he also said that he will be travelling with the team,” Rinku’s father said.
Meanwhile, legendary India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth was not happy with the selectors’ decision to not include Rinku in the 15-member squad.
“He has played match-winning knocks in South Africa. Remember the game against Afghanistan in which Rohit scored a hundred? India were 22 for 4, from there, they scored 212. Rinku played a crucial Knock. He has given his all whenever he played for India. This is rubbish, rubbish selection. Why do you need 4 spinners? All of them have to go? You have made the selection to please a few people and you have made Rinku Singh a scapegoat,” Srikkanth said.
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