Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said Rinku Singh’s exclusion was on the cards after Hardik Pandya was picked for the five-match T20I series against South Africa. Pandya was out of action with a left quadricep injury and he underwent rehabilitation at the COE. The all-rounder recently scored a match-winning knock of 77 runs for Baroda against Punjab in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Meanwhile, Rinku Singh was part of India’s squad in the Asia Cup. The left-hander replaced Hardik Pandya in the summit clash against Pakistan and hit the winning runs for the team. Singh was part of the five-match T20I series against Australia but didn’t get his opportunity in the final XI.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “Hardik Pandya is back so Rinku Singh is out. Rinku Singh is unfortunate but this was obvious once Hardik was ready to return. This squad is 90-95% of what India will pick for the 2026 T20 World Cup.”
Pathan believes the T20I series against the Proteas will be a good opportunity for India to have clear plans for the World Cup.
“India have to clear several things. Whether they go with Bumrah, Hardik and Shivam Dube along with the three spinners, Axar, Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy. But I believe Hardik’s role will be the most crucial for India’s progress in T20s and in the World cup. Him and one other finisher playing with him, those two will be most crucial for whether India winning the trophy again or not,” he stated.
The former swing pacer said the middle-order batters and finishers will be the most important for the team. Pathan added it would be interesting to note if Arshdeep Singh will bowl along with Jasprit Bumrah.
“It’s also important to see if Arshdeep bowls regularly with Bumrah upfront, alongside Hardik as the three fast bowlers. How these three perform will be crucial but the middle overs batters and the finishers will be most important. Because we’ve seen many players batting out of position several times recently. So this series against South Africa will provide a clear picture on India’s batting order plans,” said Pathan (via the aforementioned source).
India squad for T20I series against South Africa: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sunda
