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Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody believes India could have chosen only one player between Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh for their T20 World Cup 2024 squad. There has been an uproar among fans, with Rinku being left out of the 15-man squad.
However, Moody tried to find the rationale behind that decision and explained how Dube's ability to bowl alongside his brilliant form with the bat might have gone against Rinku. He feels Rinku would have made the T20 World Cup squad had he been a medium-pace-bowling all-rounder like Dube.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, here's what Tom Moody had to say about Rinku Singh:
"The way I see it, it had nothing to do with form, it had everything to do with the fact that Dube can bowl. If Rinku Singh could bowl, if both were identical cricketers, left-hand batters who could bowl part-time medium pace, he would be in that squad. The fact that Dube bowls, it gives them flexibility of different combinations and around balancing their side with either three or two spinners."
Rinku Singh also hasn't quite got enough time in the middle for the Kolkata Knight Riders, having faced just 82 balls so far in IPL 2024. However, he has incredible numbers for India in T20Is, with an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.23 in 15 games.
Wasim Jaffer on Indian captain Rohit Sharma's form
Another talking point concerning the Men in Blue's T20 World Cup squad was captain Rohit Sharma's form for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024. After a fine first half, Rohit's form of late has dropped with three single-digit scores in his past three innings.
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer was present in the discussion alongside Tom Moody but he wasn't too concerned about it. Here's why he claimed that he wasn't too worried about Rohit's form:
"You don't want to go into the World Cup with that kind of form, but he plays a high-risk game. But on a big day, he will turn it up. That's the kind of a player Rohit Sharma is. So I am not thinking too much about it."
India's T20 World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Reserves – Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
