"I think he’ll be ready to go tomorrow" - India assistant coach issues update on Rinku Singh ahead of IND vs ENG 4th T20I

Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate revealed that batter Rinku Singh is nearing full fitness, and is in contention to feature in the upcoming fourth T20I against England at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31. The southpaw had missed the last two matches due to a back spasm that he sustained during the series opener in Kolkata.

Rinku has been a constant presence in the T20I side for a while now, and plays a crucial role in the batting order as the finisher, and as an extra left-handed option in the line-up. The Men in Blue have felt his absence over the last couple of matches, where the batting unit have struggled to stitch up a combined effort.

With the series still intact after England bounced back in the third T20I, Team India will hope to field their full-strength playing XI for the business end.

“Rinku is fit. He played the first game, hurt himself and missed the next two. But I would imagine Rinku comes back in as soon as he’s proper fit. He batted the other night and I think he’ll be ready to go tomorrow," Ryan ten Doeschate said in a pre-match press conference ahead of the fourth T20I (via News 18).

Dhruv Jurel has come in as a replacement for Rinku Singh in the last two matches, playing as a pure batter. The right-handed batter has struggled to make an impact in the run chases, scoring only six runs in the series. He was sent at No.8 in the third T20I at Rajkot, as left-handed batters Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar were preferred ahead of him.

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"It is a big part of how he likes to set up" - Ryan ten Doeschate defends Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir's tactics

The ploy to send down Dhruv Jurel below the all-rounders during the run chase was panned by critics. Former players like Kevin Pietersen and Parthiv Patel lambasted Gautam Gambhir for being too obsessed with the left-hand-right-hand combination, and confining Jurel in the process.

“You could argue that we don’t want Dhruv Jurel batting at number 8. But I also think if you look at the blueprint of any of Gambhir’s teams that he has coached since he’s been coaching T20 cricket, it is a big part of how he likes to set up," ten Doeschate said.

Particularly the other night, like I said, with Dhruv coming in at 8, I don’t think we got to see the best of him. But we do believe that it’s a big part of strategy in these games. Again, going back to my point, we want to give guys a long enough opportunity to show how good they are because we believe in the medium to long term, guys will show how good they are," he added.

India currently hold a slim 2-1 lead in the series, with two matches remaining. The Men in Blue have not lost a T20I series at home since 2019.