"We hope he will join the team this evening": Sitanshu Kotak on Rinku Singh ahead of must-win Super 8 clash vs Zimbabwe
Feb 25, 2026
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 25 : India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Wednesday said that left-handed batter Rinku Singh could rejoin the squad by evening ahead of India's do-or-die ICC Men's T20 World Cup Super 8 clash against the Zimbabwe cricket team in Chennai.
Rinku had missed the team's practice session earlier in the day after returning home due to a family emergency, as per sources.
Plenty of players like Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, etc. were visible during the practice, but Rinku was not present at the field.
"Rinku's father is not well, he took a break, and we hope he will join the team by this evening," the India batting coach said during the pre-match press conference.
So far, Rinku has had a mixed bag World Cup with the bat, often arriving at the crease with very few balls left to score. He has made just 24 runs in five innings, staying unbeaten twice and having a best score of 11*. In 10 T20Is this year, the left-hander has made 115 runs in eight innings at an average of 28.75, with a strike rate of 132.18 and best score of 44*.
Team India will be playing a must-win clash against Zimbabwe at Chennai on Thursday. After a humiliating 76-run loss to South Africa in their Super Eight phase opener, the Men in Blue will need to win their remaining matches to keep themselves alive in their title defence and also hope that South Africa ends the Super Eight phase unbeaten.
Team India squad for ICC Men's T20 World Cup:
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Axar Patel, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
