'Had sweets, crackers ready': Rinku Singh's father on son's T20 World Cup squad snub

Rinku Singh’s father Khanchandra Singh was certain of his son’s inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad. So much that he and his family were ready with crackers and sweets to distribute as chief selector Ajit Agarkar, captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid mulled over their options .

But when the squad was announced on Tuesday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rinku Singh didn’t find a place in the main squad. Instead, he was placed as a travelling reserve. While there is still the possibility of making it to the main squad before 25 May, which is ICC’s deadline for any changes in case of injuries, the preliminary squad left him ‘heartbroken’.

“Umeedein to bohot thi aur isliye thoda dukh bhi hai. Hum mithai, patakhe laye the, socha that wo 11 mein khelega. (There was hope and that is why there is a bit of sadness. We brought sweets, crackers to celebrate, we thought Rinku would play in the first eleven),” he said in an interview with Bharat24.

“Uska dil toh tuta hai. Usne apni maa se baat ki aur bataya ki uska naam nahi hai 11 ya 15 mein. Lekin bataya hain ke wo jaa raha hain (He is heartbroken. He spoke to his mother and told her that he was not picked in the 11 or 15. But he also said that he will be travelling with the team),” Rinku’s father added.

The 26-year-old KKR player has showcased his abilities in 15 games for India in T20Is, where he’s amassed 356 runs, which include two fifties at a staggering strike rate of 176 and an average of 89. Despite his efforts, Rinku hasn’t made the first-choice 15-member squad which has baffled many .

India Squad for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashashvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav. Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rimku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan