India lacks finishing kick with Rinku on the chopping block

Right through the year, the selectors have kept going back to the KKR finisher without giving him a long rope

Mumbai: India’s results before and after the T20 World Cup win have been chalk and cheese. Partly, the downturn can be attributed to teething troubles for new captain Shreyas Iyer to rally his troops. But with regards to one key position -- the finisher, the selection policy on either side of the World Cup has oscillated one way, then the other.

India's batsman Rinku Singh, right, avoids a high ball as Zimbabwe's wicketkeeper Tadiwanashe Marumani watches on during the third T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and India in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday, July 26, 2026.AP/PTI(AP07_26_2026_000392B) (AP)

Rinku Singh has been at the receiving end of this ambiguity, treated as a disposable asset. After losing his place midway through the T20 World Cup, Rinku was recalled for the Zimbabwe T20I series, only to be shown the door for the upcoming 3-match series in Delhi against Afghanistan.

The year began brightly for the KKR finisher when he was picked to shore up India’s lower order in their World Cup plans. In his first comeback match against New Zealand in Nagpur, leading up to the World Cup, Rinku proved his chops with a 20-ball 44*. At the time, Rinku had pipped Jitesh Sharma for the finishing role which was sparked by a broader strategic pivot where Sanju Samson replaced Shubman Gill at the top.

At the World Cup, Rinku walked out to bat in either the 19th or the 20th over in three of the four league matches. He delivered cameos against Pakistan and Netherlands, while he failed against Namibia. In the opening match against the USA, he couldn’t help India recover lost ground after they had lost early wickets. Another failure against South Africa in the Super Eights followed. By then, India felt the burden of their left-hand heavy top order. Samson returned in the eleven as opener and Rinku, down the order, was back on the chopping block.

Rinku watched the rest of the World Cup from the sidelines with Samson’s flying starts leading the turnaround. The UP batter was discarded for the twin tours of Ireland and England that followed.

Altogether, Rinku has played in only 13 of India’s 24 matches this year. In three of them, without an opportunity to bat. In all, he faced only 109 balls, where his 152 runs came at a strike rate of 139.45. It’s virtually impossible to judge a finisher by just those numbers. A more perceptive outlook would draw one towards Rinku’s broader returns - SR of 143, 163 and 188 batting at No. 6, 7 and 8 in the IPL, and SR of 165, 147 and 155 at No. 5, 6, and 7 in T20Is. This output makes Rinku one of the better finishers in India, which is why the selectors keep going back to him.

Without the brute power of an Andre Russell or Tim David, Rinku brings to the fore a wider range of boundary-hitting skills, allowing him to dissect the boundary, if not clear it at will. Under any T20 philosophy, the finisher requires both utmost trust and a long rope. Rinku has been dropped far too frequently to retain the audacity finishers exhibit.

For the upcoming series, Rinku loses out with Washington Sundar (subject to fitness) returning. That’s another handicap for Rinku, not of his own making: India can only afford to pick so many batters who cannot bowl in the playing eleven. The hope is that Tilak Varma, who is being groomed at No. 5, will get a hang of batting in different gears and make a habit of finishing matches like Rinku.

After Tilak, India’s lower order - with Hardik Pandya’s long-term availability under a fitness cloud - still lacks muscle or zing. Sundar, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel have been unable to provide the finishing kick which can often be the difference between a win and a loss.