Rinku Singh added to India 'A' squad for the 2nd unofficial Test against England Lions 

Team India batter Rinku Singh has been included in the Abhimany Easwaran-led squad for the upcoming second unofficial Test against the visiting England Lions side, scheduled to begin on January 24 in Ahmedabad.

Singh was recently part of the Indian squad that faced Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series on home soil. The batter played a pivotal role in the hosts' win in the series finale, scoring an unbeaten 69 runs off 39 deliveries after coming in to bat at 22-4 in the fifth over.

Now, with the left-handed player not being part of the Test squad, and the next bit of cricket coming in the form of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, the ongoing shadow tour against the England Lions is expected to do him a world of good, with the other alternative being the Ranji Trophy.

"The Men’s Selection Committee has added Rinku Singh to India ‘A’ squad for the second four-day match against England Lions to be played in Ahmedabad from 24th January," the BCCI said in a statement released on January 23

The first unofficial Test between the two sides had ended in a draw, with Rajat Patidar and Srikar Bharat scoring promising hundreds.

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Rinku Singh has played 44 first-class matches till date

The majority of the fans are only familiar with Rinku Singh's flamboyant hitting in white-ball cricket, but he also has a brilliant first-class record as well. The left-handed batter has played in 44 matches in red-ball cricket, scoring 3109 runs at an average of 57.57 since making his debut in 2016.

Singh was recently seen in the drawn Ranji Trophy encounter between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in Meerut, where he played under his franchise teammate, Nitish Rana. The 26-year-old, coming in at No.3, scored 10 runs off eight deliveries in his lone outing before being dismissed by Vipul Krishna. He was also one of the seven bowlers used in the first innings, ending with figures of 0-6 after two overs.

India ‘A’ squad for the 2nd multi-day match: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal, Rinku Singh

Will the left-handed batter be viewed as an all-format player in the future? Let us know what you think.