KKR vs MI: "Blame KKR management" - Ex-India cricketer fires shots at Gautam Gambhir & Co. for Rinku Singh's World Cup snub

Former India cricketer Ashok Malhotra lashed out at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management for the omission of Rinku Singh from the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. He believes that the franchise didn't allow batting in the ongoing IPL 2024 and he lost 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 batter was the consistent performer for India in the T20Is but due to the combination, he had to make way for others. 

Rinku Singh's form in the IPL 2024 also didn't do any good to him. The Kolkata Knight Riders batter hasn't looked in great touch and has failed to score big runs in the games that the team has played. The batter didn't get much opportunity to bat but in whatever games he batted, he batted low scores. 

In the last season, Rinku Singh was the the main batter for Kolkata Knight Riders as he finished the games on his own and based on that he also made his India debut. However, in this edition, he has looked off-colours and also missed out on the spot for the World Cup. 

Ashok Malhotra believes that Rinku Singh isn't looking in great touch because Kolkata Knight Riders management didn't give him many chances to bat. He pointed out how to set the stage on fire last year but hardly got to bat this year. Speaking to RevSportz, he explained: 

"I will blame KKR management. He was a hero last year. But this year, he hardly got a chance to bat. And now when they are giving him a chance he is off-colour. He lost his form. He doesn’t seem to be in good nick. 

"Last year he was scoring runs but this year he is struggling. And that is because almost half the tournament is over and he has hardly got a bat. So, I would have put the blame a little bit on KKR because they didn’t give him enough chance." 

In the 11 matches in IPL 2024 so far, Rinku Singh has faced only 101 balls, from which he hit 148 runs at a strike rate of 146.53.

He deserved to be in the main squad - Ashok Malhotra on Rinku Singh 

Ashok Malhotra further went on to say that Rinku Singh deserved to be in the main squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. He believes that the left-hander can finish the innings on high and also can bat well in the middle. He added: 

"But despite of that selectors have picked him in the reserves. Although he deserved to be [in the main squad]. Because he is a guy who can bat in the late order. He can be a good finisher and we all know what he can do."  

Rinku Singh has been averaging 89 in the T20Is. He has scored 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.23 in the 15 T20Is.