Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals, at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, Monday, April 29, 2024. (PTI Photo)
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly said that Rinku Singh was excluded from the 2024 T20 World Cup squad as a tactical decision and told the batter not to be disheartened.
“It’s West Indies. The wickets may be slow and assist spin so they (selectors) wanted to go with another spinner. Maybe because of that Rinku didn’t get an opportunity but it’s just the beginning for Rinku,” Ganguly said at the Trophy unveiling ceremony of the Bengal Pro T20 League.
The 26-year-old who has a 176-plus strike rate in 15 T20Is may have missed out as India wanted to go with an “extra spinner” keeping in mind the spinning tracks in the West Indies, Ganguly feels.
India play their group stage matches in the USA, opening their campaign against Ireland on June 5. Super Eight onwards the tournament will be held in the Caribbean countries.
Ganguly also said that he expected India and Australia to dominate the tournament as they did in the 50-over World Cup last year.
“India and Australia the two best teams of the tournament. I’m sure they will do the same thing in the USA and the West Indies,” Ganguly said.
On the Indian squad, he said: “It’s a fabulous squad, they are all match winners. All 15 are good enough to be selected, I’m sure Rohit (Sharma) and Rahul (Dravid) will pick the best.”
On Thursday, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had said that dropping Rinku from India’s T20 World Cup 2024 was the toughest call for the management.
Addressing the media at the BCCI headquarters alongside India captain Rohit Sharma on Thursday, Agarkar said the left-handed Rinku missed out due to the overall composition of the squad that the Indian management was vying for.
“It’s the toughest thing we had to decide. It’s not his fault, or it’s not anything that he has done wrong or Shubman (Gill) for that matter. But we wanted as many options as possible in the squad. We felt that another extra bowling option in the squad would come in handy,” Agarkar remarked.
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First uploaded on: 03-05-2024 at 20:50 IST
