Former all rounder of India Irfan Pathan has expressed his opinion about the unexpected exclusion of Rinku Singh in the T20I Team to tour South Africa next month. The ostracism has surprised people especially in light of Rinku performances as of late. It has merely been two months since he stood firm, having played a nerve-wracking final in Asia Cup against Pakistan, and hitting the final winning boundary, which gave India the cup. He is now a sidelined star in spite of that clutch performance.
Rinku also accompanied the Indian team on its trip to Australia to play the T20I series, but he did not get much chance. His only single match that was eventually cancelled in Brisbane, did not give him a single ball to bat. His abrupt departure out of the team has thus raised controversy among the fans and analysts.
In the case of the South Africa series, the team management and the selectors have decided to use Washington Sundar instead of Rinku. This pick goes in line with the seemingly apparent strategy of the head coach Gautam Gambhir and the skipper Suryakumar Yadav to add more all-round depth in the team preferring players who can play in any of the departments.
In an episode of his YouTube channel, Irfan Pathan proposed that the fact that Hardik Pandya returned to the team after his injury was one of the key factors that led to the omission of Rinku. This, according to him, was a natural change in the combination of the team with Hardik aboard and Rinku off the list.
Hardik Pandya returns and Rinku Singh is out. It is unfortunate that Rinku, but this was anticipated when Hardik was prepared to come back. This team is 90-95 percent of what India will select to the 2026 T20 world cup, Pathan opined.
Pathan is of the opinion that the team they selected to play the South Africa series is the same team India would want to support in the T20 world cup next year. Although he recognized the talent and the ability to handle pressure unruffled in Rinku, he insinuated that the way forward might get challenging unless he is injured or develops a problem with his form that opens the door back to him.
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