Duleep Trophy 2024: Rinku Singh joins India B for remaining season

Flamboyant India batter Rinku Singh will join India B for the remainder of the Duleep Trophy 2024 season. The 26-year-old has played 47 first class games in his career and scored 3173 runs at an average of 54.70. Yet, the cricketer failed to get into the squad in the first place. He was playing for Meerut Mavericks in the ongoing UPT20 League, where he has scored 210 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 161.54.

Rinku was also captaining the side and under his leadership, Meerut won eight out of their 10 matches in the tournament. As per the new development, he will now leave his UP T20 team and join India B in Bengaluru, ahead of the second match, which will begin on September 12. Rinku expressed his disappointment on not being called up for the first game but is elated after the late call-up.

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“My job is to work hard, and I am extremely delighted to have received the call for Duleep Trophy. When the teams were initially announced, I was not selected. I was disheartened because my responsibility is to put in the hard work which I am doing. Today, I feel even more elated as I am here to represent India B in the prestigious Duleep Trophy,” Rinku was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Meanwhile, India B defeated A by 76 runs in the opening game of the competition. Musheer Khan’s 181 runs in the first innings proved to be the point of difference as he was also named Player of the Match. In the second innings, Sarfaraz Khan made 46 runs and Rishabh Pant hit 61. With the ball, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed were extremely impressive.

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Meanwhile, India B’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, Pant, Sarfaraz and Dayal have been included for India’s upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, slated to begin on September 19.