- Dec 2, 2024
- Jan 10, 2023
The T20I squad for the tour of West Indies was announced on Wednesday. While Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma got called into the Indian T20 side. However, it was not the same for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) duo Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh. Rana captained the KKR side in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 edition in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. Rana made 413 runs in 14 games at an average of 31.76 and at a strike rate of 140.95.
For KKR though, it was not smooth sailing as they finished in 7th place and could get only 12 points. After the squad was announced Rana put out a cryptic tweet on the microblogging site saying “Bad days build better days.” Alongside Rana, his KKR teammate Rinku did not make it to the squad himself. He impressed everyone with his batting heroics in IPL 2023. Rinku made 474 runs from 14 games and finished off many fixtures for his side.
The left-hander had an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.52. The 25-year-old notched up 4 fifties for KKR as well. He also hit Yash Dayal for 31 runs in an over and won KKR a game against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad.ย Talking about the T20I squad for India for the West Indies tour, Ravi Bishnoi and Sanju Samson have made comebacks into the team.
The seniors Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been rested due to workload management. Along with the duo, Jitesh Sharma did not find a place in the Indian side. Jitesh was a part of the Indian T20I side against Sri Lanka at home earlier this year but does not find a place in the side against West Indies which will be led by Hardik Pandya.
The squad was selected under the supervision of Ajit Agarkar who became the new chairman of selectors recently. Agarkar was replaced by Chetan Sharma who resigned after the sting operation. India will also play two Tests and three ODIs against the Men in Maroon.
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter:
True! You are almost there. Keep pushing. It will happen.
— Sayan Bhowmick (@SayanBh77749576) July 6, 2023
From MI mediocre player are enjoying international cricket….sad but reality
— Noone (@keshab_ksav) July 5, 2023
The only weakness of Nitish Rana is himself. The way he gets out after getting set and batting so well, seriously infuriates me as hell sometimes. If he becomes a bit consistent then why 400. He can easily cross 700 run mark.
— Somnath. (@RoyBabuSexy) July 6, 2023
Bhai u donโt deserve.. this is fact accept this โฆ others have performed better than u .. feeling bad for them specially Rinku
— Anuj (@Anujgunakar) July 5, 2023
At this point it's clear who get favoured who doesn't it's shameful but these players should be given freedom to play franchise cricket. How can BCCI restrict them? It's against freedom. How come any court hasn't struck this rule down?
— Culer (@JackhammKumar) July 6, 2023
Nitish Rana is grinding hard in every IPL . But guess what Tilak verma gets selected ahead of him after 1 decent season. Feel for u @NitishRana_27
— Vishvajit (@RutuEra7) July 6, 2023
Feel for NITISH RANA
No place in the T20I squad for west Indies series
This man has consistently done well in IPL and domestic.
Don't know what he needs to do now for a call up in national side#WIvIND #AjitAgarkar #BCCI @cricketaakash @CricCrazyJohns @NitishRana_27 #rinkusingh pic.twitter.com/WmG6TWcqzg— Ankit Tiwary (@Ankittiwaryy) July 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/JuiceBottler/status/1676907940643753984?s=20
I might have the most unpopular opinion but @NitishRana_27 should be tried in top order. He can be a reliable lefty which is needed by India at this point. And yes @rinkusingh235 should also be named in the squad no doubt. https://t.co/uFRu1qS7Im
— ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ช๐ท๐ฝ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ป๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ช (@IshantShrestha) July 5, 2023
Soon Indian middle order will have rana and Rinku.
— The losing king (@KingLosing) July 5, 2023
If you were expecting a T20I call up, it's far at the moment. Atleast bat with 150 SR in IPL if you want that blue cap. We know you can do that.
— Uttaran Das (@das_uttaran) July 5, 2023