'Hope selectors won't forget him. He walks into T20 WC team': Manjrekar fears 'lack of IPL chances' can hurt India star

As the T20 World Cup nears, speculations have turned rife over the potential inclusions in Team India's 15-member squad. The IPL 2024 carries significant weight as far as the audition for various places is concerned; while a few big names are automatic selections, places are still up for grabs in key positions in India's T20I XI: one of them is the finisher's role. Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about two young Indian batters who are performing exceptionally in IPL 2024(ICC/Getty)

Over the past year, Rinku Singh made the position his own with consistent performances for the side, following a brilliant IPL 2023, where he smashed 474 runs in 14 matches. He became a household name after smashing five successive sixes against Yash Dayal in one of the matches last year when Kolkata Knight Riders required 28 runs to win in the final over.

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However, this year, the opportunities for Rinku have been few; He is yet to reach the three-figure mark in the season, having scored 83 runs with two unbeaten innings in six matches. His strike rate, however, remains an impressive 162.75. Despite certain doubts over the lack of chances, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar firmly believes that Rinku should be “walking into” the Indian team, come the World Cup.

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“Because he's not getting many opportunities, I hope selectors won't forget about Rinku Singh,” Manjrekar told Firstpost.

“He's a straight walk-in into the Indian team. Every time he has got the opportunity, you've seen how good he can be, in the sense of his consistency and the range that he has. He's somebody who I like, apart from the core of the Indian team, apart from the big names we are thinking about,” said Manjrekar.

Rinku has already appeared in 15 T20Is for India, remaining unbeaten in seven of them. He has 356 runs to his name at a brilliant strike rate of 176.23 and an average almost touching a staggering 90 (89.00).

Samson fulfilling ‘expectations’

Manjrekar also believes that Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson is meeting the expectations and should be a part of the Indian squad at the T20 World Cup.

“The other batter, who has played for India, has been around for a long time, but finally is coming to the stage where what we are expecting from him is starting to happen is Sanju Samson. His consistency, maturity... when he's playing, and he is on song... India need that kind of a player in their T20 team,” said Manjrekar.

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