Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra
expressed hope that middle-order batter Rinku Singh will find a place in ODIs
as well, saying that the left-hander should be looking to excel in all
departments instead of staying content with his ‘finisher tag’.
Rinku continues to justify his ‘finisher’
tag during the ongoing India Australia T20I series, notching impressive cameos
of 22* in 14 balls and 31* in just nine balls so far in the series.
“This is not the first time he has done
it (finish a game). We all have been discussing his role, his power. Not just
about his batting, even with the way he throws himself on the field, it shows
he is a great team man. He will be a great asset to Indian cricket. Yes, we are
talking only about T20 cricket, but who knows tomorrow he can also be playing
ODI cricket,” said Nehra.
The former pacer said he is not really a
fan of the word ‘finisher’ since even an opener can be tagged as one if he
sticks around and scores a century.
“I am not a big fan of the word ‘finisher’.
Your opener can be a finisher, if he scores a hundred, he can finish the game
and come back. At times, it can be harsh. Let me give you an example, if the
same Rinku Singh does not finish the game once or twice.
Coming back to Rinku Singh, he is
someone who can even play up the order, I can see him playing in 50-over
cricket going forward. He can bat at No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6,” Nehra explained.
“On any odd day, the Indian team can be
40 for 4 in 5-6 overs. And I hope Rinku Singh is ready to play any role, I hope
he does not want to be tagged himself as a finisher. He should be looking to
excel in all departments,” he added.
Rinku has a great List A cricket record,
which also makes him a good fit for ODIs. In 55 List-A games and 50 innings, he
has scored 1,844 runs at an average of 49.83, with a century and 17 fifties to
his name. His strike rate is 93.98.
The left-hander also has an excellent
first-class record, scoring 3,007 runs at an average of 57.82 in 42 matches,
with seven centuries and 19 fifties in 63 innings. With these fantastic numbers
in longer formats, there is very little doubt about Rinku excelling in all
formats of the game.
So far in four T20I innings in eight
matches, Rinku has scored 128 runs at an average of 128.00, ending unbeaten
thrice. His best score is 38 and his runs have come at a strike rate of almost
217.
ANI
