Virat Kohli fans blast Rohit Sharma’s controversial choice

Skipper Rohit Sharma was called “choker” and “shameless” after Team India’s selection committee, chaired by former all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, excluded Rinku Singh from the national team’s T20 World Cup squad.

Cricket fans from across the country pointed fingers at skipper Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and chairman of national selectors Ajit Agarkar, before labeling the decision as a grave injustice to the young batter.

Alongside Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar, social media brutally trolled the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for not including Rinku Singh in Team India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US in June.

Even “Justice for Rinku Singh” became one of the top trends on X after Team India’s national selectors dropped a T20 World Cup shocker on Tuesday as Ajit Agarkar and Co. left the explosive southpaw out of the squad for the elite ICC event.

Rinku Singh bats in the middle order and has done a fabulous job in finishing games for both his IPL franchise and the Indian Cricket Team in the limited opportunities he has had with the national team.

The 26-year-old was widely tipped to take over MS Dhoni’s “finisher” role in India’s T20 World Cup line-up but failed to sneak into the 15-men squad as India’s selectors went with time-tested performers like Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja.

In 15 games for Team India, Rinku Singh has made 356 runs at a stunning average of 89 and an equally impressive strike-rate of 176.23. His 356 runs include two fifties and a top score of unbeaten 69.

Speaking about his Indian Premier League (IPL) numbers, Rinku Singh has scored 848 runs in 40 matches in the competition within his short but highly impactful career.

While his overall average in the IPL stands at 32.62, it is his strike-rate (143.24), that has often hogged the limelight.

But in the 2024 edition of the IPL, Rinku Singh hasn’t been at his complete best, averaging 20.50 in the nine matches he has played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) so far, which seems to have hurt his chances of making it to the Indian cricket team for the T20 World Cup.

1983 World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar reckoned that the selectors would have decided against picking him because of his under-par showing in the 2024 IPL.

“Maybe his form in this particular edition of the IPL hasn’t been great. He hasn’t had that many opportunities, maybe that’s the reason why they’ve (selectors) not picked him,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Today.

Nonetheless, many former cricketers didn’t agree with Sunil Gavaskar’s assessment of Rinku Singh’s recent form with Irfan Pathan stating that the KKR player shouldn’t have been ignored for the T20 World Cup.

“I think Rinku Singh’s recent past performance for Team India shouldn’t have been ignored,” Irfan Pathan wrote on the microblogging site.

The legendary K Srikkanth described the move to omit Rinku Singh’s name from the side that would travel to the Caribbean as “rubbish.” He suggested that the left-handed batter was being made a scapegoat.

“I am not at all happy. C’mon all of you. Rinku Singh has been spoken about all over the world. He has performed in each and every opportunity he has got. How can you drop Rinku Singh? You drop anyone else, it doesn’t matter. In my view, Rinku Singh should have been there, even if that meant you had to drop Yashasvi Jaiswal,” K Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

“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,” he elaborated.

“He has been in international cricket for a short span, but he might have made a difference. Shivam Dube probably has jumped in for the finishing role in that middle order as a power-hitter. So, I was really surprised when Rinku wasn’t in the 15-member squad,” Aaron Finch told Star Sports.

“So, if you’re talking about surprises, I think Rinku Singh has done enough in international cricket. He averages well over 60 or 70 in T20Is to hold a place in the 15. So, that’s the only thing that had my ears sticking up. So I’m only saying that the extra spinner, someone like Axar (Patel), has been preferred to Rinku,” former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop added.

“Like all teams, India can only pick 15 from their immense talent-pool, especially their batting talent. Its therefore heartwarming to see the outpouring of encouragement for Rinku Singh. Hopefully get a chance at a World Cup some at some point in the future,” he explained.