Rinku Singh a victim of IPL’s ‘Impact Player’ rule: Report quoting BCCI source on T20 World Cup top-15 snub. cricket news

The ‘Impact Player’ rule, which has made IPL competitions virtually a “12-a-side affair”, has presented a raw deal for power-hitter Rinku Singh, who has been denied a place in the Indian main squad for the T20 World Cup. Couldn’t make it. He just didn’t have enough time for sports. The 26-year-old left-handed batsman from Aligarh, who caught the attention of the cricket world with five sixes in an over during the last IPL, replaced Shivam Dubey in the main national team while his name appeared among the reserve players.

Dubey got a chance due to more playing time for Chennai Super Kings during the first 10 matches of the league.

Those in the know of the selection meeting held in Ahmedabad on Tuesday unanimously agreed that Rinku was conveniently left out of the panel as he could not be fitted in the same 15 with Hardik Pandya and Dubey. could.

“There is no doubt that Rinku has paid the price for the impact player rule. He is clearly unfortunate. Hardik may be out of form but he is still India’s best seam bowling all-rounder and leaving him out would have been a risk because He is the only person who has bowled,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

So how did the Impact Player rule become disastrous for Rinku? Kolkata Knight Riders considered Rinku as a finisher and he never got a chance to bat in the top five. In the eight innings before selection, he played only 82 balls, which is about 10 balls per innings.

The two Iyer’s – Venkatesh and skipper Shreyas – along with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who is nothing but a power-hitter, got the majority of the overs, leaving Rinku with little to do in the end.

One cannot blame KKR for not promoting Rinku, but truth be told both Iyer’s were never in contention for national selection. Their names were not even for discussion.

On the contrary, Chennai Super Kings and their astute tactician Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been making maximum use of Dube since his arrival during the 2021 season.

Dubey has played 203 balls in nine matches so far for CSK. That’s around 23 balls per game – 13 more than Rinku, which enabled him to hit 26 sixes in addition to 24 fours.

Rinku hit nine fours and six sixes in her 82 balls.

The 13 extra balls that Dubey got as an impact player made all the difference, especially on flat decks where anyone could hit it across the line.

Rinku also did not get her fair share of batting on pitches where Raghuvanshi and Iyer took more balls.

Dubey has not been bowling to his medium pacers as Dhoni has rightly decided that his bowling ability is not up to par with him and on most days, he will be a steady target for batsmen keen on range hitting.

Dhoni made the best use of Dubey and was instrumental in making him stand out at the national level based on his core skill – power hitting on the slow deck.

Had the Impact Player rule not been in place, it is unclear whether Dhoni and current CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad would have been able to use Dube in his current avatar.

Therefore, Rinku’s strike rate of 176 in 15 matches for India till January 2024, which included two fifties, is not enough to earn her a place in the main team.

Just as Ambati Rayudu’s omission was one of the most unfortunate decisions ahead of the 2019 ODI World Cup, one can only hope that Rinku’s omission from the main team does not end up being harakiri.

With Rinku being part of the traveling reserves, he has a chance to be included in the 15 in case any of the first team members gets injured.

Also, till May 23, if the selectors feel necessary, no reason will be required for making changes in the team.