3 reasons why Rinku Singh not being picked in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad is a travesty

It's all anyone's been able to talk about over the last day or so - Rinku Singh hasn't been picked in India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was announced on Tuesday, April 30 by the BCCI.

The selectors have decided to give themselves additional spin backups in the form of Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal. In the batting department, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube have been picked as the left-handers in the middle order, reducing the number of available spots for Rinku.

India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan

Nevertheless, it's arguable that Rinku should've been one of the first names on the T20I teamsheet. He has been incredibly consistent over the last year or so for the Men in Blue and offers a unique skillset that cannot be found anywhere else in the squad.

On that note, here are three reasons why Rinku Singh not being picked in India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup is a travesty.

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#3 India's finishing stocks are terribly thin

England v India - 2nd Vitality IT20

Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya are the contenders to bat in the lower middle order for India. However, none of the trio offer any confidence in the finishing department.

Jadeja's batting has been on the wane in white-ball cricket for years now, with serious issues against spin and a limited hitting range against pace. Meanwhile Hardik has clear limitations against hard lengths and spin and hasn't been able to play any convincing knocks recently.

The Men in Blue had been plagued by this issue until they drafted Rinku Singh into the T20I squad. But they won't be taking the 26-year-old to the most important tournament on the calendar.

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#2 It isn't Rinku Singh's fault that he isn't getting enough time in the middle in IPL 2024

Shreyas Iyer has batted himself ahead of Rinku even with a few overs left [Image Courtesy: iplt20.com]

One of the reasons that has been pinpointed for Rinku Singh's exclusion is his limited role so far in IPL 2024. He has faced only 82 balls for the Kolkata Knight Riders, with 123 runs a strike rate of 150.

However, Rinku can hardly be blamed for that. KKR's top-order batters have delivered the goods more often than not, and even when there have been chances for him to come to the crease with a few overs left, Shreyas Iyer has promoted himself and Venkatesh Iyer ahead of Rinku.

Moreover, Rinku was limited by a side strain during the first half of the tournament and didn't take to the field often. Had he been fit, he may have played a more prominent role and made it impossible for the selectors to ignore him.

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#1 Rinku Singh hasn't put a foot wrong in T20Is so far

India v Australia - T20I Series: Game 3

Rinku Singh averages 89 and strikes at 176.23 in T20Is. Since making his international debut, he has barely failed for the Men in Blue and has two half-centuries to his name.

On what basis has Rinku been excluded? It's tough to say, really, with his performances having been impeccable in a hugely challenging role. He has hit 31 fours and 20 sixes in 11 T20I innings and taken seven catches to boot.

Without putting a foot wrong so far in the format, Rinku can consider himself desperately unlucky to miss out on the 2024 T20 World Cup squad.