Outgoing Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour has backed T20 specialist Rinku Singh to find success for the Indian team in Test cricket if given an opportunity. The 26-year-old youngster made his debut for India in the white-ball formats last year and he has played 20 T20Is and two ODIs so far as well. He has a T20I record as India’s finisher with an average of 83.20 and a strike rate of 176.27 as well. He was in the travelling reserves of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad as well.

In a conversation with PTI, Rathour said: “When I see him bat in nets, I can’t find any technical reasons why Rinku cannot be a successful Test batter. I understand he has made his name as a terrific finisher in T20 cricket but if you look at his first-class record, he is averaging in high 50s. He is also blessed with a very calm temperament. So all these factors indicate that if given an opportunity, he can develop into a Test cricketer.”

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Despite becoming popular for his heroics in the IPL and T20Is, Rinku Singh has a great first-class record. The talented batter averages an impressive 54.70 with seven centuries in 47 matches in the red-ball format for Uttar Pradesh as well.

Moreover, Vikram Rathour applauded Rahul Dravid as the best coach he has worked with after the duo helped India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title in the West Indies and the USA as well.

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“Rahul is the best coach that I have worked with, who gives you lots of space to work, is open to suggestions and will provide you an honest feedback. One of the first discussions we had was about changing the batting template in T20 cricket. We agreed that we needed to bring in more intent and aggression in our batting approach. That made a massive difference and gave the batters in top order lot more freedom to bat,” concluded Vikram Rathour.