Star batter Rinku Singh is set to make his return to India’s playing XI for the crucial 4th T20I against England in Cuttack on Friday. After featuring in the series-opener in Kolkata, Rinku sat out the last two games in Chennai and Rajkot, respectively, owing to back spasms. However, on the eve of the game in Cuttack, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed that Rinku will be available for selection, having looked in good rhythm while batting in the nets on a day earlier.
“Rinku is fit. He played the first game, hurt himself and missed the next two. But I would imagine Rinku comes back in as soon as he’s proper fit. He batted the other night and I think he’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” Ten Doeschate said during a pre-match press conference on Thursday.
Rinku’s likely inclusion would be a major boost for the Indian team as it looks to wrap up the series on Friday ahead of the fifth and final game in Mumbai on Sunday.
If the team management does decide to ship Rinku into the playing XI, young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel is likely to make the way. Unlike Jurel, Rinku is likely to bat higher up the order and will provide more stability in the middle-order.
It is highly unlikely that India will make any other change. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will continue to open, while Tilak Varma’s match-winning knock in Chennai has earned him a longer rope in the team.
Mohammed Shami needs a lot of bowling in match situations and the Rajkot game was a decent restart to his international career without being spectacular. For continuity, the management is likely to persist with the veteran for this game at least.
India’s Likely XI For 4th T20I vs England:
Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami and Varun Chakravarthy
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