Former Indian cricketer Ashok Malhotra criticized the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management for dropping Rinku Singh from India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup after losing his form.
Rinku Singh was one of the unfortunate names who missed out on the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. The Kolkata Knight Riders batsman has been the consistent performer for India in the T20Is but had to make way for others due to the combination.
Rinku Singh’s form in IPL 2024 has also not done him any good. The Kolkata Knight Riders batsman didn’t look particularly good and failed to score big runs in the games the team played. The batsman didn’t get much opportunity to bat but in all the games he played, he scored low.
Last season, Rinku Singh was the main batsman for Kolkata Knight Riders as he finished the games on his own and also made his India debut on that basis. In this edition, however, he appeared unremarkable and also missed out on a place in the World Cup.
Ashok Malhotra believes that Rinku Singh is not doing well because the management of Kolkata Knight Riders did not give him many chances to bat. Last year he showed how to set the stage on fire, but this year he barely batted. Speaking to RevSportz, he explained:
“I will blame the KKR management. He was a hero last year. But this year he had little chance of beating. And now that they give him a chance, he’s not in the paint. He has lost his form. He doesn’t.” seems to be in good condition.
“Last year he scored runs but this year he is struggling. And that’s because almost half the tournament is over and he barely has a racket left. So I would have put a little bit of blame on KKR because that wasn’t the case. “Give him enough chance.
In the 11 matches of IPL 2024 so far, Rinku Singh has faced just 101 balls, out of which he scored 148 runs at a strike rate of 146.53.
He deserves to be in the main squad – Ashok Malhotra vs Rinku Singh
Ashok Malhotra further said that Rinku Singh deserves to be in the main squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. He believes the left-hander can finish innings on the up and also bat well in the middle. He added:
“But the selectors still voted him into the reserves. Even though he deserved it.” [in the main squad]. Because he’s a guy who can bat late in the order. He can be a good finisher and we all know what he can do.
Rinku Singh averaged 89 in T20Is. He has scored 356 runs in the 15 T20Is at a strike rate of 176.23.