Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has urged the team management to not label Rinku Singh as a finisher only amid the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand. Chopra said if India continues with their strategy of playing with eight batters, then Rinku Singh will walk into the side.

Singh, who got a chance in the starting XI after a long time, scored a crucial cameo of 44 runs off just 20 balls in the series opener against New Zealand at Nagpur on Wednesday.

The left-hander smashed four fours and three sixes to add the finishing touches and help India post 238 runs on the board. The southpaw scored his runs at an impressive strike rate of 220 as he batted at the top of his game.

Aakash Chopra said on ESPN Cricinfo, “If you are going to play with the eight batters, you need somebody who can actually bat at eight. Then Rinku has to walk into the team. But my humble request is, just don’t label him as a finisher only. Please.

“He has scored three T20I fifties and all those innings came when he actually, I think, walked in during the powerplay overs itself. So he’s someone who’s a grafter. He’s someone who reads the situation very well. He actually adapts and then he fires,” the 48-year-old went on to add.

Chopra highlighted that Rinku Singh is not someone who can muscle the ball like Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya.

He added, “He’s not a Pollard or a Russell or a Hardik Pandya or even a Shivam Dube, who will smash sixes for fun. He’s not someone who muscles the ball. He’s someone who actually plays the field quite nicely.”

The second T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Raipur on Friday.