"I wasn't selected because I didn't play that well" - Rinku Singh opens up on his snub from Duleep Trophy squads

Indian batter Rinku Singh recently spoke about not being included in the squads for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. The majority of the contracted players, barring some senior candidates, along with emerging talents constituted the four squads in the tournament that kickstarts the domestic calendar in India.

Rinku Singh, having already established himself as a regular in the T20I squad, was one of the prominent names absent from the squad list, recently named by the men's selection committee led by chairman Ajit Agarkar.

The left-handed batter recently played the T20I series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka away from home. Although he could not make an impression with the bat, he made up for it with his match-saving over in the third T20I against Sri Lanka, and was adjudged fielder of the series on both tours.

Rinku Singh has been entrusted to translate his white-ball exploits into red-ball cricket as well by the coaches that he has worked with in the past. However, he will have to wait for his opportunity.

"Nothing...I didn't perform that well (in the domestic season). I didn't play many matches in the Ranji Trophy...I played 2-3 matches. I wasn't selected because I didn't play that well. I might get selected for next-round matches," Rinku told Sportstak.

In his most recent red-ball outing, he scored 26 runs off 33 deliveries in Uttar Pradesh's drawn encounter against Andhra in February 2024.

Rinku Singh is expected to feature in the white-ball matches of the upcoming home season, which features assignments against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Rinku Singh averages of 54.70 in first-class cricket

The left-handed batter is primarily known for his pinch-hitting ability as seen in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as for the national team. However, the general consensus is that he is capable of doing more than just slog, and his numbers in domestic red-ball cricket align with that fact.

Having made his debut for Uttar Pradesh in 2016, he has played a total of 47 first-class matches to date and has scored 3,173 runs at an average of 54.70.