“If Rinku Singh is available, he should play” - Rohan Gavaskar on India’s combination ahead of Zimbabwe clash

Former Indian batter Rohan Gavaskar has backed Rinku Singh to continue as Team India’s finisher despite his constant failures of late in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Speaking exclusively on Cricbuzz, Rohan asserted that Rinku is a magnificent player, and he provides the explosiveness at the end of the innings. However, if Rinku isn’t available for selection, Rohan would bring in Sanju Samson at the top of the order.

"If Rinku is not there, then Sanju does come in. But if Rinku is available, he should play. He's a magnificent player. He's the kind of player you want at the end of the innings. Rinku provides you with that explosiveness at the end of the innings. He has played the role of the finisher so well that if he's back, he is definitely in the 11 for me,” Rohan Gavaskar said on Cricbuzz.

Furthermore, the former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan has stated that Sanju Samson should be given consistent opportunities instead of getting only one chance against Zimbabwe in Rinku Singh’s place. He went on to defeat Abhishek Sharma despite showing poor form.

"With Sanju, tough luck. Someone else was in tremendous form and pushed you to be out of the playing 11. Ishan came into his spot and has made an impact. Abhishek's loss of form has been only in the tournament. The management should show trust in him by saying he's only one innings away," Zaheer Khan said.

"You can't give one game to Sanju and then pull him out again. It's too bad for Sanju. So much rather invest in what's already there. If Rinku is not there, then it's a straight swap with Sanju. But then you are asking him to do the tough job of batting out of his position,” he added.

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