"This series was extremely important for him and India from the T20 World Cup perspective" - Aakash Chopra lauds Rinku Singh's performances vs AUS

Aakash Chopra has highlighted the significance of Rinku Singh's impressive performances in the T20I series between India and Australia from next year's T20 World Cup perspective.

The Men in Blue beat the Aussies by six runs in the final T20I in Bengaluru on Sunday to complete a 4-1 win in the five-match series. Although Rinku was dismissed cheaply in the last game, he smashed 105 runs at an excellent average of 52.50 and an outstanding strike rate of 175.00 in his four hits in the series.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on some of the star performers in the series. He believes Rinku's performances will hold both him and India in good stead, explaining (2:30):

"This was an important series for Rinku Singh because he is your only batter who bats at this number. He is doing so now and will do it for the Kolkata Knight Riders as well. He plays at No. 5 and sometimes at No. 6 wherever he plays. These numbers (No. 5 and No. 6) are very important. So it was important for him to do well."

The former India opener added:

"This series was extremely important for him and India from the T20 World Cup perspective - somebody who can bat at No. 5 or No. 6, and he is a left-hander as well. You will find that you have a lot of left-handers in your team currently but as soon as the World Cup comes, you will say you don't have a left-hander."

Chopra pointed out that the Men in Blue will be on the lookout for left-handers if their experienced players are back in the team for the T20 World Cup. He elaborated:

"Rohit (Sharma) and (Virat) Kohli will come, Shreyas (Iyer) and Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) are there, I don't know (KL) Rahul maybe, Hardik (Pandya) - they are all right-handers, so who is a left-hander? So Rinku Singh was very important for me and this series was very good for him."

Rinku could compete with Tilak Varma for a left-handed middle-order batter's position in India's T20 World Cup squad. His performances in the T20I series against Australia have given him a head start on the Mumbai Indians southpaw for that role.

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"His mindset, the way he plays, and the temperament he shows" - Aakash Chopra on Rinku Singh's positive traits

Rinku Singh has exhibited calmness even in pressure situations. [P/C: AP]

While observing that Rinku Singh played an aggressive shot prematurely in the final T20I, Aakash Chopra praised the youngster for the attributes he brings to the table. He said (2:50):

"His mindset, the way he plays, and the temperament he shows - we can ignore the last match, where according to me, he played a bad shot to get out. It wasn't the right time to try that shot. He just went a little too soon. He should have taken the game slightly deeper."

Rinku holed out to long-on off Tanveer Sangha's bowling for an eight-ball six in the 10th over of India's innings. His dismissal reduced the hosts to 55/4 before Shreyas Iyer's 53-run knock and his crucial partnerships with Jitesh Sharma (24) and Axar Patel (31) took them to a fighting total.