The Indian squad for the Asia Cup T20, set to be announced on Tuesday, is likely to pose a tricky test for Ajit Agarkar and his selection panel, with several tough decisions on the cards.
Rinku Singh’s spot in the 15-man squad is also being questioned, even though Indian Test captain Shubman Gill’s designation and position in the squad are still heated topics.
After winning an IPL match for the Kolkata Knight Riders a few years ago by hitting five straight sixes off RCB pacer Yash Dayal, Rinku became the talk of the town and was viewed as a designated finisher in the Indian squad.
However, after Rinku was placed on standby for the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, his career graph has somewhat declined.
A modest 2024 IPL season in which he faced just 113 balls and a comparable 2025 season in which he faced 134 balls suggested a diminished role.
It’s interesting to note that Gambhir was KKR’s mentor and main strategist in 2024.
The way the former KKR think-tank chief employed Rinku demonstrated how little of a part the Aligarh southpaw played in his plan.
One cannot claim with any degree of surety that Rinku will be selected automatically for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year, given the competition for each batting spot.
However, Rinku’s position currently appears rather precarious if only the Asia Cup T20 is taken into consideration.
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper-batter), Tilak Varma, captain Surya Kumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya are all guaranteed spots in the top five if fit and available.
The selectors will need to make some concessions about one or two spots now that Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, two players with established IPL records, are back in the mix.
And it’s very obvious that Gill and Jaiswal won’t be in the same squad till Abhishek and Sanju are the obvious picks, at least for this Asia Cup.
“We often hear people saying, one should pick so and so but no one would be able to definitively tell us ‘in place of whom’? Shreyas Iyer has 600 runs at a strike-rate of 180 but he bats in top four. Where is the place for him. Even as you include Shubman as he is flavour of the season, where do you cut corners,” a former national selector told PTI.
“You can’t disturb your top five right now and also pick Shubman. And if you pick Shubman now, obviously the Test captain and IPL team captain won’t sit out.
“So where do you make the compromise? I only see Rinku’s spot being iffy as he isn’t required as much some of the top order batters. And mind it, we aren’t even talking about Jaiswal,” the former selector, who also played for India, said.
There would still be a Shivam Dube (because Nitish Reddy is unlikely to recover) and a Jitesh Sharma (second wicketkeeper), who might potentially fill the finisher’s job even if Rinku is injured.
Remember that both are versatile players; Shivam can add an over or two when needed, and Jitesh can keep.
All eyes will be on Rinku’s place in the team because one-dimensional cricketers in the middle and lower order are a bit passe in Gambhir’s setup.
