Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has predicted that Rinku Singh will not be able to make it to India’s playing XI in the Asia Cup 2025.
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Despite being included in the squad for the eight-nation tournament, Chopra believes that all-rounder Shivam Dubey is ahead of him in the race. Ahead of the tournament, Rinku expressed his desire to be one of the all-format players for India, not just as a T20I specialist.
Recently, the player has come under criticism for not being able to play any notable innings. Rinku has managed to score just one half-century in his last 13 T20 International innings.
Rinku Singh, as a finisher, will sit out for the time being: Chopra
In a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Rinku Singh, as a finisher, will sit out for the time being, and Shivam Dube will probably play at No. 7 if he gets a chance to play. There is also Hardik Pandya and Jitesh Sharma. Where is the space?”
Rinku became the talk of the town during IPL 2023 when he smashed five consecutive sixes in an over from Yash Dayal to win the match for Kolkata Knight Riders and since then, he was seen as a designated finisher in the Indian team.
In a recent interaction with Times of India, Rinku clarified that he doesn’t consider himself a finisher but is ready to bat at any position as per the team’s requirement.
In T20 Internationals, predominantly in the middle order, Rinku has scored 546 runs in 24 innings (33 matches) at a strike rate of 161.06. During this, he also has 3 half-centuries to his name. Overall, his T20 strike rate is 148.22.
Team India for Asia Cup 2025
Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Harshit Rana and Rinku Singh.
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel
