Table of Contents
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the T20I squad for the Ireland and England tours and also for the Asian Games 2026. Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as the new captain for the three-series replacing Suryakumar Yadav. After the team was announced, Rinku Singh’s name was missing from the squad as he was dropped.
Rinku Singh has been an integral part of the Men in Blue side in the T20I format for a long time now. The Southpaw has been a match winner for the side in the shortest format and was appointed the role of the finisher, which he has executed in an excellent fashion. He was part of the T20 World Cup 2026 side, which was crowned champions.
Rinku Singh's selection was based politician’s backing
However, after being removed, there has been a shocking fact that has come from sources that one of the powerful politicians who previously supported Rinku's inclusion in the T20 setup has no power now. The development has reignited debates about how picks are made behind the scenes. He was even backed ahead of Shubman Gill at one point.
However, the reports from CricBlogger, which have come, is remains at rumour stage as every player of the Indian team is chosen based only on talent, not political support or personal recommendation. As per the reports, it is believed that Rinku was included in most of India’s ICC event squads in recent years, despite often missing out on bilateral series.
Rinku Singh's IPL 2026 & India career
He was part of the T20 World Cup 2024 (reserve), Asia Cup winning team, and also the T20 World Cup 2026 squad. Rinku Singh has been decent with the bat for the Men in Blue, as he has scored 665 runs with an average of 39.1 and a strike rate of 155.7, but it has not been enough to get selected this time.
Rinku Singh started the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 coldly, but the momentum changed in the middle phase as he finished off the tournament scoring 295 runs with an average of 59.00 and a strike rate of 148.99, but still could not help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) qualify for the playoffs as they finished 8th in the table.
Will Rinku play for India ever again?
According to the rumours, Suryakumar Yadav also influenced backing Rinku over Gill. He intervened and made his preference known, and the Southpaw was included in the 15-member squad for the 2026 T20 Indian team. Soon after SKY was dropped, the latter could not find a place in the team as well.
There have been rumours that it would be difficult for Rinku to find his way back into India’s T20 setup if he no longer enjoys the backing of the board official. Moreover, India has preferred finishers as fast or spin bowling all-rounders in the middle order; that is another reason for him being only a specialised batter, not to find a place in the squad.
Also Read: Shaheen Afridi set to retire from Test cricket? PCB removes him from future red-ball plans
