India batter Rinku Singh was candid in his assessment of why he wasn't selected in any of the Duleep Trophy teams.
The Duleep Trophy will mark the beginning of the 2024/25 domestic season in India. BCCI announced squads for the four teams that will participate in the tournament on August 14. Amidst several India regulars and fringe players who were picked, one noticeable name that was missing was that of Rinku Singh.
In an interview with Sports Today, Rinku was asked about his omission from all four Duleep Trophy squads, to which he came up with a straightforward response: "I didn't perform that well (in the domestic season). I didn't play as many matches in the Ranji Trophy, I played 2-3 matches. I wasn't selected because I didn't do well enough."
Despite the omission, however, Rinku sounded optimistic that he might be picked for the latter rounds, especially with India getting into a Test series against Bangladesh in the second half of September. "Hopefully my name might be there for the next few games," he said.
Read: Can Rinku Singh actually break into Test cricket?
Rinku made his international debut last year after a stellar IPL 2023, and soon established himself as an integral part of India's T20I middle order. He came very close to getting a T20 World Cup berth, but had to settle for a spot among the reserves.
However, amidst his T20 success, Rinku's first-class game took a bit of a backseat. Last season, he played only three games in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 128 runs at 42.66 with just one fifty – not great returns in a tournament with a reputation for massive scores.
Overall, however, Rinku has a stellar first-class record, averaging 54.70 from 47 first-class matches.
When asked about people overlooking his abilities and records in the other formats and pigeonholing him as a T20 specialist, Rinku said that he was not too fussed about it: "No worries, I am happy with whatever chances I am getting. When I will be selected for ODIs or Tests, it will be a huge deal for me. Whatever I am getting to play right now, I am playing."
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