India has axed Rinku Singh from the T20I squad for the upcoming series against South Africa. Hardik Pandya is returning to the side after the quadriceps injury he sustained during the Asia Cup in September. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif defended the selectors’ decision to drop Rinku and questioned who else Hardik would have come back into the side.
“There is no one you could have removed with Hardik coming back. Sanju Samson in India during the World Cup will be solid. Jitesh has come in now. Even in the Asia Cup, Rinku did not play all the games. He was not in your XI anyway. The bowlers are doing well. There are many all-rounders. There was only one player who could have made way for Hardik to come in, and that was Rinku. There is no other reason. Rinku may feel it is unfair, but I am with the selectors here. Who else will you drop really?” he said on his YouTube channel.
“Rinku’s time will come. Take it from me, he will be an all-format player for India in the future. You will see him playing all formats after two years.”
India has largely retained the T20I squad that was successful in the T20I series in Australia, with star all-rounder Hardik Pandya returning to the fold after a two-month injury lay-off. Pandya last featured in India’s victorious Asia Cup final against Pakistan and was subsequently out of action due to a left quadricep injury. On Tuesday, Hardik powered Baroda to a 223-run chase in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, smashing an unbeaten 77 off 42 deliveries to seal the chase against Punjab.
The T20I series will begin in Cuttack on December 9, followed by the second match in New Chandigarh on December 11. The third match is scheduled for December 14 at Dharamsala and the 4th one will take place in Lucknow on December 17. The last and final match of the series will take place in Ahmedabad on December 19.