Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu has voiced his disapproval over the omission of Rinku Singh from India’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad. The Kolkata Knight Riders batter was only selected as a reserve. Rayudu has argued that overlooking Rinku demonstrates the team selectors’ are focusing on statistics rather than cricketing skills.
Rayudu said that Rinku has performed under pressure in the death overs for India. Specifically, he questioned if the selected players have reliably shown the skill to bat freely with a high strike rate during the last phase of the game in recent years except all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Rayudu took on X (Twitter) to express his disappointment.
“Rinku Singh’s omission clearly indicates stats rule over cricketing sense.. who in this selected Indian has been walking out in the 16 th and 17 th over in a t20 game in the last 2 years and playing fluently with a high strike rate and can win a game except Ravindra Jadeja.. he is a big miss.. quality should come before quantity and most importantly cricketing ability should come before likability on Instagram,” he wrote.
Rayudu asserted that cricketing skill, not social media popularity, should determine team selection. He implied Rinku’s omission is a result of influences beyond his on-field performance.
Since debuting for India in August, Rinku has taken the world by storm, amassing 356 runs in just 11 innings at a staggering average of 89 and strike rate of 176.23.
