T20 World Cup 2024: 'Not His Fault, It was the Toughest Decision' - Ajit Agarkar Explains Rinku Singh India Snub

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BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar has admitted that the omission of Rinku Singh was solely based on the uncertainty of the conditions and it was 'the toughest' decision they had to take.

Rinku Singh has been a standout performer for India after making his debut in the T20 format. The KKR southpaw has batted brilliantly for India and had a superb domestic season.

In 15 T20I matches for India, Rinku Singh has scored 356 runs with an average of 89, while he boasts a strike rate of 176. The 26-year-old also has two fifties to his name in India colours.

Despite the rich vein of form, Rinku was left out of the India squad for T20 World Cup. The Aligarh-born has only made it as a travelling reserve and his chance is only subject to a player getting injured, which is a tough pill to swallow.

Almost all the experts had Rinku in their probable 15, and the decision to leave him out of the squad came as a shock. And echoing the sentiment, chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained that opting to drop Rinku Singh was the 'toughest' decision in the selection meeting.

"It's probably the toughest thing we had to discuss [in the selection meeting]. He has done nothing wrong. It's again the combination as Rohit said we're not quite sure the conditions we will get," Agarkar said in the press conference at BCCI HQ on Thursday (May 2).

"There were a couple of wrist spinners, Kuldeep and Chahal who were included to give Rohit more options. Axar again as a batting all-rounder. It's just unfortunate. I don't think there is anything to do with Rinku Singh and it's not his fault that he missed out. It's more the 15 that we felt," the BCCI chief selector explained.

"We just thought another bowling option might be handy going forward in the tournament. He is still one of the travelling subs, it's a little bit tough on him but at the end of the day you can only pick 15," Agarkar concluded.