NewDelhi: The Rinku Singh Virat Kohli bond — one which has warmed the hearts of cricket fans on several occasions – has constantly been in colloquy, with Rinku once opening up about why he admires the Indian skipper. But after getting on from a gifted bat from Kohli during the IPL season, Rinku’s performance in international cricket has gone way down, making fans and cricket experts worried about his place in Indian Team.
Explosive batting style batsman Rinku Singh has struggled in the ongoing series against South Africa. At the Centurion park, he was restricted to 8 off 13 balls – a far distance from the blazing hitting he is so good at. Similar were his runs in the first two matches as well, scoring 11 runs off 10 balls while managing 9 off 11 and ended up with a pathetic total of 28 off two balls at an average of 9.33 and a strike rate of 82.35. It is a long way off his last T20 International where he averaged 46 at a strike rate of 165.
Rinku is Team India’s designated finisher and has always been a quick scorer with the bat in the finale, having limited balls to play. In this series, though, his attempts have come up empty each time. Cricket analysts who looked at his recent games said Rinku had lost touch and tried to play big hits by stepping out of his crease, but kept missing his mark. This could be the beginning of a downward dip that sees the young player put on the bench.
It comes after Rinku got Kohli’s bat in April during the IPL season. At 60 runs at an average and strike rate of 176 in his first international coming together with Zimbabwe in July, he looked a viable prospect, but his form has since waned. With a half century of 61 runs in the first innings against Bangladesh, he came in to this series looking good with high hopes, but so far has made just 28 runs.
Rinku will have the added pressure of repaying the belief and hopes for his place in Team India if he has to with the remaining matches. His admirers and the coaching staff will watch carefully for now, hoping to see a return to the talent he displayed when he captured the national spotlight.