Rinku Singh's T20 brilliance against Australia earns Ashish Nehra's nod

By Ovaise Shariff | First Published Dec 5, 2023, 9:40 AM IST

Indian batter Rinku Singh emerges as a standout performer in the T20 series against Australia, earning accolades from former pacer Ashish Nehra.

While India's overall performance against Australia in the T20I series may not have been stellar, they secured a convincing 4-1 victory in the five-match competition. In the series where India dominated Australia with a 4-1 triumph, batter Rinku Singh emerged as a breakthrough player. Despite accumulating only 105 runs in five matches, Singh showcased an impressive strike rate of 175, surpassing all other batters. In recognition of his performance, the selectors have included Rinku in India's T20I and ODI squads for the upcoming tour of South Africa, commencing on December 10. Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra acknowledges the difficulty of singling out a standout player from the series but leans towards naming Rinku as the star.

Ashish Nehra said, "Rinku Singh is someone who can bat up the order. I can see him playing the 50 overs format". (JioCinema). pic.twitter.com/gFgCfXINhG

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra)

"Everyone contributed. It's a challenging choice, but Rinku Singh, particularly for the impactful knocks he played, especially in the last (fourth) match. Rinku Singh is typically known for steering the team when they need 50-60 runs after the 15th or 16th over. However, he had to play a different role here, and he demonstrated that adeptly. Regardless of discussions about easy circumstances or a flat pitch, those factors weren't applicable in this case," remarked Nehra on Jio Cinema.

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Prior to the fifth and final T20I, Nehra had expressed that Rinku had presented a strong case for inclusion in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad.

"There's no denying that Rinku Singh is a contender for a spot in India's T20 World Cup squad. However, the World Cup is still distant, and the competition for the position he's vying for is intense. Players like Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper-batsman) and Tilak Varma also pose challenges. Decisions need to be made regarding the roles of Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya. He has certainly caught everyone's attention and put them under pressure, but there's still ample time. The South Africa tour is on the horizon, followed by the IPL," Nehra elaborated.

Since his debut for India, Rinku has accumulated 180 runs in 10 T20Is at an impressive average of 60 and a strike rate exceeding 187.5, achieving a high score of 46. Notable for his power hitting, he has struck 16 fours and 11 sixes in 88 balls faced, with 130 runs solely through boundaries and maximums.

Also Read: Ravi Bishnoi's stellar performance against Australia positions him as India's third spin option for T20 WC

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