Former Indian batter Rohan Gavaskar has backed Rinku Singh to retain his place in the Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe. Singh was dismissed for a second-ball duck against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The left-hander has batted down the order in the ongoing T20I showpiece and hasn’t faced a lot of deliveries. The southpaw has scored 24 runs in five matches at an average of eight and a strike rate of 82.75.
On Tuesday, Rinku left the squad due to a family emergency but rejoined the team on Wednesday evening.
Rohan Gavaskar said on Cricbuzz, “If Rinku is not there, then Sanju does come in. But if Rinku is available, he should play. He’s a magnificent player. He’s the kind of player you want at the end of the innings. Rinku provides you with that explosiveness at the end of the innings. He has played the role of the finisher so well that if he’s back, he is definitely in the 11 for me.”
On the other hand, former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan wants India to back the same openers and believes Abhishek is one good knock away from finding his form.
“With Sanju, tough luck. Someone else was in tremendous form and pushed you to be out of the playing 11. Ishan came into his spot and has made an impact. Abhishek’s loss of form has been only in the tournament. The management should show trust in him by saying he’s only one innings away,” he said.
Khan said the team management would not do justice to Sanju Samson if they give him only one game.
“You can’t give one game to Sanju and then pull him out again. It’s too bad for Sanju. So much rather invest in what’s already there. If Rinku is not there, then it’s a straight swap with Sanju. But then you are asking him to do the tough job of batting out of his position.”
Khan highlighted Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion against Pakistan was a tactical call, but India must bring back Axar Patel in the playing XI.
“Kuldeep was a tactical call when they played in Sri Lanka. So they’ll keep it that way. Other than that, irrespective of the turmoil from the outside, you have to back your instincts and planning. The only surprise was why Axar, being the vice captain, was dropped. That’s a valid question to ask because you can’t have a fluctuating thought process within the tournament,” said Zaheer (via the aforementioned source).
“From outside, people can say drop Tilak or bring in Sanju. The tactical decisions are going to be critical. Axar is the one change they should think very hard about for Washington. Other than that, you have to achieve that stability. So you stick to your winning formula.”
India will next take on Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Thursday.
