India T20 World Cup 2024 Squad: 'Have Some Shame' - Fans Show Rage After Rinku Singh Only Makes Standby List

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday (April 30) announced India's preliminary squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, which will be hosted in the West Indies and USA, starting on June 1.

Rohit Sharma will lead India in the showpiece tournament, while Hardik Pandya will be his deputy. Star batter Virat Kohli, who has been slamming runs in the ongoing IPL 2024 has also been added into the squad alongside Suryakumar Yadav.

India have added two wicketkeepers in Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, to their squad. Pant is set to make a comeback to team India, around 16 months after meeting with a car crash on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in Uttarakhand in 2022.

India have also opted for four spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to their squad with only three specialist pacers - Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj.

The selectors overlooked wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul and Rinku Singh, who has been named in the reserves alongside Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.

Many felt this was the expected to squad, but some fans vented their frustration at Rinku Singh being only included in the standbys rather than in the 15-member squad.

One fan showed stats supporting Rinku's inclusion and showed his rage towards the selectors by posting on social media platform X, Have some shame!! How can you drop Rinku Singh from the squad?"

Another fan also used the stats angle to question the exclusion of Rinku Singh from the 15-member squad by posting, "Justify dropping of Rinku with these stats. Average of 89 and strike rate of 176 in international T20s? Justice for Rinku."

While a few were thrilled with the inclusion of someone like Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson, some fans were unhappy with the likes of Rinku, Sandeep Sharma and Avesh Khan among others not making the cut.

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan believed that the recent past performances of Rinku Singh in the national team warranted him a spot in the T20 World Cup Squad.

Another ex Indian player Aakash Chopra also said that Rinku would have been an immediate pick 6 months ago, but the former opener was happy with the inclusion of Samson and Dube.

India, who are placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA, will begin their World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.

Rohit Sharma-led side will then play the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. India will then play USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.