Rinku Singh Out of T20I Squad Because of Hardik Pandya Return? Irfan Pathan Reveals Reason

Ind vs SA: Once the Indian T20I side for the upcoming five-match series against South Africa was announced, the biggest shock was to see the name of Rinku Singh missing. So, why did he not make the side after being a regular member of the T20I scheme of things? Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan revealed what could be the possible reason behind the move. As per Pathan, Hardik Pandya's return meant there was no space for Rinku. 

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‘Hardik Pandya is back so Rinku Singh is out’

"Hardik Pandya is back so Rinku Singh is out. Rinku Singh is unfortunate but this was obvious once Hardik was ready to return. This squad is 90-95% of what India will pick for the 2026 T20 World Cup," Pathan said on his YouTube channel. 

"India have to clear several things. Whether they go with Bumrah, Hardik and Shivam Dube along with the three spinners, Axar, Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy. But I believe Hardik's role will be the most crucial for India's progress in T20s and in the World cup. Him and one other finisher playing with him, those two will be most crucial for whether India winning the trophy again or not," he said further.

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India's T20I squad for South Africa series

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt)*, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar

*Subject to fitness clearance from BCCI CoE.

The opening T20I would be played at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack on December 9.