India T20 World Cup 2024 squad: Rinku Singh’s exclusion from the 15-member India squad in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 has created waves of disappointment among fans, who were counting on his explosive abilities in the marquee event. The contentious exclusion of Rinku Singh from the main squad came mainly due to another contentious topic in IPL 2024- ‘The Impact Player’ rule.
The people with knowledge about the closed-door meeting between BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel on Tuesday accepted that Rinku Singh paid the price of the ‘Impact Player’ rule as he didn’t get many opportunities to bat in IPL 2024.
“No doubt, Rinku paid the price for the Impact Player Rule. He is plain and simple unlucky. Hardik might be in poor form, but he is still India’s best seam bowling all-rounder, and it would have been a risk dropping him considering he is the only one who has bowled,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
How Impact Player ruled impacted Rinku Singh’s chances?
Rinku Singh plays for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, and the franchise positions him as a finisher. The role doesn’t provide much scope for Rinku Singh to score many runs or even play in most of the matches. The Impact Player rule allows the early introduction of players like Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who are power hitters and complete most of the job themselves.
KKR management’s decision to keep Rinku Singh’s T20 World Cup possibilities and promote him to the batting order can be considered a tactical mistake as Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, or Angkrish Raghuvanshi were outside the race for a place in the 15-member squad.
In contrast, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend MS Dhoni had the foresight to provide the most opportunities for their explosive all-rounder Shivam Dube, as the franchise used him as an Impact Player.
Rinku Singh played 82 balls in the eight matches of IPL 2024, which is just ten balls on average. Shivam Dube had 203 balls in nine games so far for CSK, 23 balls more than Rinku Singh, which enabled him to score 26 sixes and 24 fours.
If there was no Impact Player role, it is unclear if Ruturaj Gaikwad or MS Dhoni would have capitalized on Shivam Dube’s abilities well.
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Published: 30 Apr 2024, 09:37 PM IST