Rinku Singh Reveals The Advice He Received From Rahul Dravid After First Meeting With India Coach

Rinku Singh has revealed the advice he has received from head coach Rahul Dravid ahead of the upcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa. The left-handed batsman has been picked in the T20I squad as well as the ODI squad. India will take on the Proteas in three T20Is, as many ODIs and two Tests.

The T20I series will kickstart the tour on Sunday (December 10). The Indian team arrived in South Africa on Wednesday (December 6) and had its first training session on Friday. Later, the BCCI posted a video of the training session on their social media accounts. In the same video, Rinku Singh spoke about the conditions in South Africa and the advice he received from Dravid.

Visiting South Africa for the first time in his career, the southpaw said: “The weather here is quite pleasant. It was the first practice session, and it was quite enjoyable. Initially, we did warm-up exercises, and then we came to the nets.”

Rinku Singh reveals Rahul Dravid’s advice:

While Rinku Singh has already played 10 T20Is for Team India, he has had the opportunity to work with Rahul Dravid for the first time in his career. In all the ten games that he has played so far, VVS Laxman was the head coach.

The Uttar Pradesh star started by expressing that working with Dravid is a ‘great feeling,’ and he went on to mention that the former India captain has advised him to play his natural game and believe in himself.

“It’s a great feeling to work with Coach Rahul. He said to play the way I’ve been playing and to believe in myself. Playing at number 5 can be challenging, but he advised me to keep pushing myself and maintaining self-belief,” said Rinku Singh.

First practice session in South Africa ?
Interaction with Head Coach Rahul Dravid ?
Fun, music & enjoyment with teammates ?

In conversation with @rinkusingh235 ? ? – By @RajalArora

P. S. – Don't miss @ShubmanGill's special appearance ?

Full Interview ? ? #TeamIndia |… pic.twitter.com/I52iES9Afs

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 9, 2023

Talking about Rinku’s international career so far, he has scored 180 runs in 10 T20Is so far at an average of 60 and a strike rate of over 187. The southpaw will be looking to continue his impressive display against South Africa too. A good performance in the challenging conditions of South Africa will very much seal his spot in the squad for next year’s T20 World Cup.

India’s squad for 3 T20Is:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.

India’s squad for 3 ODIs:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.

India’s squad for Tests:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.