Irfan Pathan feels that Rinku Singh’s confidence must have been shattered after being snubbed from India’s main squad for the T20 World Cup. Rinku was a surprise omission from the 15-member side as he was put in the reserves. Many fans and pundits were left stunned by the southpaw’s snub, who has an average of 89 and a strike-rate over 176 in 15 matches for the Indian team in T20Is.
“In my squad, Rinku still finds a place. There are 4 spinners in the squad. Even if they play 3 spinners, one of them will be sitting out. His confidence must be shattered.”
“How he must be feeling? As a senior guy, we can tell him ‘You are not far away from the squad, you are in the reserves. Take that as a positive and we back you’. This is where the selectors and the team management come in, the communication should come in. I hope the team management is speaking to him. I hope the selectors spoke to him. I know Ajit very well, I hope he has spoken to him. If not, this is the time they should be talking to him. Not talking is a wrong thing to do,” said Pathan.
Mohammed Kaif would say that Rinku is the real finisher for him but felt the selectors were left with the tough choice of choosing between him and Shivam Dube. Kaif feels that they went with Dube as he can give a couple of overs as well.
“He is the real finisher. He has played several last overs and won the game. He has been there and done that. I think he is still young. He is going to get better with experience. But, I feel they had to pick one between Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh. I think they went for Dube, because he gives a couple of overs, he brings the balance for the team. You can play 2 spinners and then have four fast bowlers by playing both Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. They must have thought of Rinku Singh a lot. It’s a tough call. I think Dube, in the squad, I think they wanted someone who can give two overs,” said Kaif.
