After the announcement of the Indian men’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup on December 20, there may be some changes due to injuries or some player not being in form.
The Indian selectors took a bold decision to leave out players like Shubman Gill; However, some of the selections that were made did not feel right for the team dynamics. The selection may have been done as per the combination, but when it comes to ICC tournaments, a weak link can harm the entire team.
The Indian team mostly consists of players who have shown consistent and promising performances over the last few months, with Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh being the only players who are making a comeback in the scheme of things after notable absences.
Uttar Pradesh batsmen are the weakest link of the Indian T20 World Cup team.
Considering the form and dominance Ishan Kishan showed during the recent edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he cannot be called the weak link of the team. Kishan has also had promising T20I numbers for India in the past.
Rinku Singh might have had good numbers for India, but the last time he played a match before the Asia Cup final was against England in February, and the last time he played a significant innings for India was against Bangladesh in October 2024.
Rinku Singh has been largely out of touch, resulting in his being dropped from the Indian team; However, stating that he could be useful in the T20 World Cup combination, the Uttar Pradesh batsman was selected in the 15-member squad.
However, neither Rinku is in touch with the format, nor does the batsman have any other skills apart from batting, and besides, with the likes of Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Shivam Dubey all having roles with the ball, he is not ideal to replace him.
RCB wicketkeeper can be included as replacement
If Rinku is selected in the original playing eleven, his effectiveness will be a big question, especially in the subcontinent, as he is not a very good player of spin bowling. If India needed a backup, wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma could have been a more reliable player lower down the order.
Another player who showed glimpses of great form was young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Reddy played only three matches for Andhra Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and scored 70 runs at a good strike rate, and also took a hat-trick in the game against Madhya Pradesh.
Furthermore, the SRH all-rounder can be useful with both bat and ball, and can be an equal replacement for any all-rounder, especially with Hardik Pandya being more prone to injuries.
Rinku Singh’s stats in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025
Rinku Singh was not part of the national team for the recent South Africa series, resulting in her playing the entire Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season for her state team, Uttar Pradesh. The performance of the left-handed middle-order batsman was not very good.
He performed brilliantly with the bat in the Ranji Trophy, where he scored an unbeaten century against Andhra Pradesh, and then continued his peak form against Tamil Nadu after returning from Australia. However, going into SMAT, Rinku lost her shine and was consistently out on single digit scores.
His only promising performance in the SMAT was against Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, where he scored 65 and 45 points respectively. In 7 matches of the season, Rinku could score only 172 runs at an average of 24.57 and only one half-century.
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