Rinku Singh’s batting slot and circumspect approach must be a cause of concern for the India team going into the deciding fourth T20I vs South Africa.
As the India squad looks to win another bilateral series in Johannesburg on Friday, Rinku Singh‘s batting position and cautious style must be a worry heading into the pivotal fourth Twenty20 International match against South Africa. India has maintained a commanding lead in the series thanks to centuries from Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma, but their squad would want a more coordinated batting effort to win it 3-1. Having defeated Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup final, India has always had a comfortable hunting field at the Wanderers ‘Bull Ring’.
Even captain Suryakumar Yadav’s final international century to date was at this venue during the previous T20I series a year ago, and it was in a victory.
The strange case of Rinku Singh
One of the best players in T20 cricket, Rinku, has abruptly lost his temper in recent months for unclear reasons, which captain and acting head coach VVS Laxman is aware of.
His employment as a floater at numbers six and seven and his batting position appear to be hurting the Aligarh man’s chances.
Since Captain Surya has plenty of time to analyze the situation and help the guy get back on track, they won’t lose someone too valuable due to uncertainty, especially with the next T20 World Cup in India still a ways off in 2026.
Rinku has only achieved 28 runs in the current series, ranking sixth in two games and seventh in another.
However, it becomes concerning when one considers the amount of balls (34) he has taken to score runs.
Rinku played 113 balls in 15 games for KKR even during the most recent IPL, or about 7.5 deliveries per game.
The plan would have benefited the Indian squad, but lately it has made Southpaw less confident since he feels torn between playing second fiddle and attacking.
Rinku has performed best while batting at number five most of the time, but it may be challenging for Rinku to advance ahead of Hardik in a lineup where Tilak Varma has established himself as a No. 3 and Sanju Samson is content to play as an opener. The team think-tank would be better off addressing this problem as soon as possible.
Team Combination
In the first three games, India utilized 12 of its 15 players. It would be intriguing to watch whether any of the two uncapped pacers, Vysakh Vijaykumar or Yash Dayal, get their maiden cap if the pitch calls for an additional specialized speedy. After consecutive setbacks, Samson would want to forget that he is becoming Marco Jansen’s “bunny.”
Squads: India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Hardik Pandya. Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh. Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen. Heinrich Klaasen, Patrick Kruger. Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton. Andile Simelane. Lutho Sipamla, Tristan Stubbs.
