ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Why Rinku Singh or KL Rahul would have been better picks in the USA for the tournament

Indian Cricket Team has made a terrific start to the T20 World Cup 2024, having won both their matches. Rohit Sharma’s team began the campaign by beating Ireland by 8 wickets before defeating Pakistan by 6 runs. The Men in Blue are on the verge of making it to the Super 8 phase and a win over USA on Wednesday will more or less confirm their passage. 

Shivam Dube was picked in the squad for the T20 World Cup on the back of his good form in the IPL. His return to the Indian team saw the 30-year-old score crucial half-centuries to justify his place in the team. 

In the game against Pakistan, the Chennai Super Kings star struggled to get going as he scored just 3 runs from 9 balls. During the Pakistani innings, Shivam Dube also dropped an easy catch to give Mohammad Rizwan an early life. All these haven’t missed the eyes of the Indian fans who have called out the CSK star over his bad performances. 

Rinku Singh or KL Rahul a better choice than Shivam Dube?

When the Indian team was announced for the T20 World Cup, there were two major surprises. KL Rahul, despite his good form in the Indian Premier League 2024 season, wasn’t considered in the final team. 

One of the biggest shocks was the non-inclusion of Rinku Singh in the Indian main squad. The 26-year-old is part of the reserve squad along with Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed. 

KL Rahul was the wicketkeeper for India during the 2023 ODI World Cup. The right-handed batter had done reasonably well during the IPL 2024 season for Lucknow Super Giants. Had India picked KL Rahul they would have had a better cushion in the middle-order to shepherd the innings. Shivam Dube failed in his bid to do the same thing when India was in trouble against Pakistan. 

In the case of Rinku Singh, the left-handed batter is a proven match-winner and a very good finisher. In small venues such as in the USA, Rinku Singh could have been the X-Factor for Team India. 

Rinku Singh can play the pace bowlers and also is a huge threat against the spinners. Many bowlers have found out the weakness of Shivam Dube against the short ball and they have successfully targeted him with this ploy. 

While Shivam Dube is a very good utility cricketer, his skillsets do not match that of KL Rahul or Rinku Singh. The two Indian players have proven in the past how they can be great match-winners with the bat and come good for India in crucial times.