Rinku Singh to replace Virat Kohli in India's Test squad vs England? BCCI makes big move

The BCCI, on Tuesday (January 23), announced the addition of Rinku Singh to the India A squad for the second four-day match against the England Lions. Last week, the BCCI announced the squads for the second and third games and Rinku Singh was named in the squad for the third game.

However, the selectors have now decided to add him to the squad for the second game as well. Rumors were suggesting that the highly-rated batsman might be added to the India squad for the five-match Test series against England after Virat Kohli withdrew from the squad for the first two games.

However, his addition to the India A squad for the second unofficial Test has pretty much put the rumors to bed. The second game of the three-unofficial Test series is scheduled to be played from January 24 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The first game of the series ended in a draw.

England Lions dominated the first three days of the four-day game but had to settle for a draw as India A came up with a valiant show on the final day. The tourists needed 6 wickets on the final day while India A needed an improbable 331 runs for a win. However, the likes of Sai Sudharsan (97), Manav Suthar (89*), and Srikar Bharat (116*) came up with fine displays with the bat, helping India A score 267 runs while losing just one wicket.

Rinku Singh’s international career so far:

Rinku Singh has made a stunning start to his career in international career. The left-handed batsman earned his maiden call-up last year after impressing in the IPL and has not looked back since then. He has already become a key member of India’s T20I team and is looking set to be a part of the team for this year’s T20 World Cup.

Rinku Singh has also made his debut in the ODIs. In 11 T20Is innings so far, he has scored 356 runs at an average of 89 and a strike-rate of more than 176.

India ‘A’ squad for the 2nd unofficial Test match:

Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal, Rinku Singh

India ‘A’ squad for the 3rd unofficial Test match:

Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Washington Sundar, Shams Mulani, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal