On Thursday evening when India captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were struggling for a convincing explanation on Rinku Singh's omission from the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter was just next door, taking throwdowns at the Wankhede Stadium in preparation for the IPL game against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday.
Rohit joined the Mumbai Indians squad for training after finishing his media commitment and took out time to have a brief chat with Rinku.
Probably what cost the diminutive left-hand batter a place in the India squad was the lack of batting time in the ongoing IPL season. Rinku has played 15 T20Is for India, scoring 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.23. However, he’s had a quiet IPL season so far:
123 runs off 82 balls in eight innings at a strike rate of 150. Shivam Dube, on the other hand, has been in top form, and his explosive performances for Chennai Super Kings got him the nod ahead of Rinku. Abhishek Nayar, KKR’s assistant coach, does not feel Rinku is out of form though. For the former Mumbai all-rounder, Rinku’s value to the team has to be measured by the number of balls he has faced and not the runs he has scored.
“I wouldn’t agree the IPL form, I just think he hasn’t played enough balls. Barring one or two games where he hasn’t got runs, he has got runs in almost every game and which has been critical runs for us. So, his form has never been in question, I think when you look at any cricketer, in world cricket or even in T20 cricket, sometimes the role you play doesn’t justify what numbers you have at the end of the day. Just in terms of the role he plays for us and for any team which is a finisher’s role, you tend to play 8 to 10 balls and you look at how well he does in the 8 to 10 balls and not how many runs he scores. If you go back and look at his stats and his strike-rate in comparison to the balls he has played, you will get your answer, it is not a form problem at all,” Nayar said on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}“I wouldn’t agree the IPL form, I just think he hasn’t played enough balls. Barring one or two games where he hasn’t got runs, he has got runs in almost every game and which has been critical runs for us. So, his form has never been in question, I think when you look at any cricketer, in world cricket or even in T20 cricket, sometimes the role you play doesn’t justify what numbers you have at the end of the day. Just in terms of the role he plays for us and for any team which is a finisher’s role, you tend to play 8 to 10 balls and you look at how well he does in the 8 to 10 balls and not how many runs he scores. If you go back and look at his stats and his strike-rate in comparison to the balls he has played, you will get your answer, it is not a form problem at all,” Nayar said on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}The KKR top-order, led by pinch-hitter Sunil Narine, has been on fire in this IPL, leaving the lower-order with a limited role. As a result, Rinku’s contribution has been restricted to playing a few cameos.
For now, Rinku has to just grab whatever opportunity he gets in the remainder of this season, starting with Friday’s IPL game at Wankhede. With Rohit and Hardik Pandya, India's vice-captain, in the opposition, it will be an ideal opportunity for the southpaw
to impress and remind everyone why he was considered to be an automatic choice in the lead-up to World Cup selection.