SA vs IND: Rinku Singh's recent heroics lead him to ODI debut in Gqeberha

In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh has been handed the cap as the Aligarh-born cricketer made his ODI debut in the second match of the series against South Africa. During the toss, skipper KL Rahul confirmed that Shreyas has joined the Test squad for the two-match series, which made room for Rinku in the middle order.

Notably, the 26-year-old was incredible in the T20I series, which played a role in him getting an opportunity in the ODI set-up. He has played 55 List A matches so far in his career and has scored 1844 runs at a strike rate of 93.98. Playing for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket, Rinku has proved to be a key player and can accelerate in the death overs, which fulfills the criteria that the Indian team management is looking for in the absence of Hardik Pandya.

Rinku first broke into the scene after having a remarkable season in the IPL 2023. He finished as the ninth-leading run-scorer of the tournament and following this, he earned his debut call-up for the series against Ireland. Later, he played his part in helping India win gold in the Asian Games 2023 and afterward, played a significant part in helping India win the T20I series against Australia.

A call-up in the ODI team was in the cards and in the absence of multiple senior cricketers for the South Africa series, Rinku’s dream became reality. The cricketer was subjected to trolls in the earlier part of his career but Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management showed a lot of faith in the youngster and he is now a force to reckon with.

Meanwhile, the ongoing series against South Africa is the best chance for the cricketer to show his worth and finalize his place in white-ball cricket. He will also be eyeing to make it to India’s T20 World Cup squad, which is slated to begin on June 3. However, the focus will now be on the remaining two ODIs, in which Rinku will aim to make a significant mark.