T20 WC: ‘Stats rule over cricketing sense’, Rayudu disappointed by Rinku’s exclusion from main squad

New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu has voiced his discontent over Rinku Singh’s exclusion from India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad, as the batter has been listed among the reserves instead.

Rayudu claimed that apart from Ravindra Jadeja, India didn’t have a reliable finisher and that Rinku had to be a part of the squad.

In a social media post, the 38-year-old questioned whether any of the chosen players have consistently showcased the capacity to bat aggressively with a notable strike rate during the pivotal 16th and 17th overs in T20 cricket throughout the last two years.

“Rinku Singh’s omission clearly indicates stats rule over cricketing sense.. who in this selected Indian has been walking out in the 16th and 17th over in a T20 game in the last 2 years and playing fluently with a high strike rate and can win a game except Ravindra Jadeja.. he is a big miss… quality should come before quantity and most importantly cricketing ability should come before likability on Instagram,” he wrote in an ‘X’ post.

Rinku have played 15 T20Is having scored 356 runs with the highest score of 69 at a strike rate of 176.24 and av average of 89.0

India Squad for T20 WC: 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

–IANS