After not getting selected for the upcoming West Indies tour, Rinku Singh will now fly to Ireland for the three-match T20I series against Ireland, slated to be played on August 18, 20, and 23, as per the Indian Express report. Rinku had a terrific IPL 2023 for Kolkata Knight Riders and yet he failed to make it into the Indian squad for the upcoming Caribbean tour.
“Rinku and other players who did well in the IPL will fly to Ireland as the selection committee doesn’t want to try everyone at one stage. There are seven players of the Indian ODI team who are not going to play T20 as those players are key for us going ahead as they will be playing Asia Cup in late August,” a BCCI source said.
Alongside Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad will also be flying for the Ireland series. With the Asian Games coming ahead, the selection committee wanted to try players on a series-by-series basis. The selection team of BCCI requested the board to have more India A tours. The BCCI is already in talks with a few boards to organize A tours.
Ever since Ajit Agarkar was made the chairman of the selection committee, this was the first meeting held. Instead of Rinku, Indian selectors opted for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma for the T20I squad. Jaiswal had a remarkable IPL 2023 for Rajasthan Royals and he also had a decent Ranji Trophy.
Veteran players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have not been added to India's T20I squad for IND vs WI five-match T20I series, though they will play ODI and Test series. Ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead the side in the shortest format of the game and Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as Hardik’s deputy. Sanju Samson and Ravi Bishnoi have also been named in India's T20I squad.