Team India have a pool of talented players and one of them is Rinku Singh who made headlines and impressed one and all with his crunch performances in his short stint at international cricket. However, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid wants Rinku to use the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan and polish his finishing skills more as well.
“He has been performing well in the role of a finisher. This series (against Afghanistan) is another opportunity for him to develop himself as a cricketer further,” Rahul Dravid said on the eve of the first T20I in Mohali. “Whatever opportunity he gets here or in the IPL, it will be good for his development. Whenever a player does well, he always remains in the thoughts of the selector.”
However, Apart from his wide array of shots and calm nature, Rinku Singh also brings another left-hand option in the batting line up, which Dravid thought added a “nice string to the bow” as well. Moreover, there’s also Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma along with Ishan Kishan, who didn’t make himself available for the upcoming series as well.
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“Players like Rinku, Jaiswal and Tilak have come in as well, which adds a nice string to the bow. But in the end, we make selection on the basis of performance, not just on the left-hand or right-hand batsman,” Dravid further added. “We still have left-handers in the line-up. But it is not only about left-handers but it is their ability to play through a period and to be able to tackle different kinds of spin that there is.”
While speaking before the T20I series, Rahul Dravid also confirmed that Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma would open the innings for India as well.
“As of now, we will be opening with Rohit and Jaiswal. When you have a squad that offers flexibility, we can take a call that is in the best interest of the team. We are certainly happy with what Jaiswal has done for us as an opener. It also gives us the left-right combination at the top,” added Dravid.
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While Virat Kohli isn’t available for the Mohali T20I, he will return for the last two games in the series. His absence will give other players to bat at that position as well and Shubman Gill is one of the front runners as well.
“Nothing is closed,” Rahul Dravid said on the prospect of Kohli opening alongside Rohit. “We have no doubt that the kind of ability and skill sets players like Rohit and Kohli possess, they will be able to find answers against different kinds of bowling.”
