Former India fast-bowler Ashish Nehra believes middle-order batter Rinku Singh’s chances of breaking into the India squad for next year’s Men’s T20 World Cup look bright, though at the same time there are many challengers for the finisher’s spot in the playing eleven.
In the ongoing T20I series against Australia, Rinku has been making his case strong for a full-time position as a finisher in the Indian team through his blitzkriegs at the end of the innings. He finished off the chase of 209 with an unbeaten 22 off 14 balls at Visakhapatnam.
He again stood up to smash 31 not out off just nine balls at Thiruvananthapuram and slammed an enthralling 29-ball 46 at Raipur. With a steady head position and calmness inside, Rinku has been successful in showcasing his skills as a finisher, a role which he does well for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL and for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket.
“There is no doubt that Rinku Singh is a contender for inclusion in India’s T20 World Cup squad. But the World Cup is still far away and the spot he’s fighting for has many challengers. You can look at Jitesh Sharma (the wicketkeeper batsman) and Tilak Varma. We’ll have to discuss the positions where Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya will play.”
“So, we have to see how many spots are available in the 15-member squad. But one thing is sure, he has opened everyone’s eyes and put everyone under pressure. But there’s still a lot of time to go. The trip to South Africa is coming up followed by the IPL,” said Nehra on JioCinema ahead of fifth T20I happening on Sunday evening at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Asked if India’s fast-bowlers are leaking a bit too much runs in the series, Nehra pointed out that the hosts’ have been giving chances to others with first-choice players rested and credited pacer Mukesh Kumar for being a big positive for the team.
“The conditions for the first three matches were different and a lot of the bowlers have changed. Your experienced bowlers like Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been rested.”
“If you speak of Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar, they have just been introduced to international cricket. And then we saw over 200 runs being scored in the first three matches. So, it’s not that only the Indian bowlers leaked runs, even Australia’s bowlers have given away a lot of runs.”
“In these circumstances, Mukesh Kumar has been a big positive for India. The way he has bowled with wet balls, his execution of yorkers and bowling in the death overs has been terrific,” he concluded.
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