T20 World Cup 2024: Gautam Gambhir's KKR blamed blatantly for Rinku Singh's ouster from India squad

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his views on why the Indian selection committee put Rinku Singh in the extras for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 which will visit USA & West Indies under Rohit Sharma's captaincy.

The apex governing body of Indian cricket has also named 4 players in the reserves list who will be available for the team in case of any injury and Rinku Singh is a part of it. 

What did Sunil Gavaskar say about Rinku Singh's omission from the main squad?

While speaking to Star Sports after the announcement of India's squad was made official, Sunil Gavaskar kind of lamented Rinku Singh's omission. For better parts of the 2023 season, Rinku's services from the middle-order were crucial for both his IPL franchise - Kolkata Knight Riders as well as the Indian team. 

It was in 2023 that Rinku Singh experienced his breakout season in the Indian Premier League since making his debut in 2018. The left-hand batter quickly shot to fame for his range-hitting ability which became a subject of discussion after he had smacked Gujarat Titans' Yash Dayal for 5 sixes in a row. 

KKR needed 28 runs from the final over to win their game against GT. Only a miracle was supposed to help the Knight Riders win and that miracle man was Rinku Singh.

His form and self-confidence improved following those 5 sixes in a row as he went on to score 474 runs from 14 matches at a strike rate of nearly 150 with 4 half-centuries to his name. 

The 2023 season helped him earn a call-up to the Indian national team wherein he has played a few crucial knocks as well. Rinku Singh made his debut in Ireland before winning the Asian Games 2023 Hangzhou Gold Medal under Ruturaj Gaikwad's captaincy. His first half-century came during India's tour of South Africa last year. 

Rinku Singh had smacked 68* in the 2nd T20I at Gqeberha. He then returned home and played crucial finishing knocks during a 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan. All of that had made him a strong T20 World Cup 2024 probable for India but IPL 2024 changed everything for him.

Lack of opportunities to bat higher in the order, which is filled by some big names, Rinku Singh is the one who paid the ultimate price. That's what exactly Sunil Gavaskar said in his statement. 

"Maybe his form in this particular edition of the IPL hasn't been great. He hasn't had that many opportunities (with KKR), maybe that's the reason why they've [selectors] not picked him." - Gavaskar said via Star Sports. 

Team India's squad and schedule for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.

The Indian contingent will begin their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a clash against Ireland on June 5 against Ireland in New York. Rohit Sharma's side will then take on arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9th at the same venue before taking on USA and Canada on 12th and 15th June in NY and Florida respectively.