Rinku Singh's father, Khanchandra Singh, has revealed that his son is heartbroken after missing out on India's T20 World Cup squad of 15. Rinku, a consistent performer in India's T20I set-up since his debut against Ireland last year, and a gold medallist at the Asian Games, was unexpectedly left out of the main list of 15. Despite his stellar performances and contributions to the team, Rinku's journey to the USA and West Indies will now be as one of the four reserve cricketers.

Rinku is currently travelling with the Kolkata Knight Riders team for their next IPL away game against Mumbai Indians. The left-handed batter was seen leaving the airport in Kolkata with KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan by his side. As per reports, Shah Rukh, who a couple of days ago, had expressed his desire to see Rinku make it to the final 15, was being a pillar of support to the youngsters all through.

"There was hope, and that is why there is a bit of sadness. We brought sweets and crackers to celebrate; we thought Rinku would play in the first eleven. He is heartbroken. He spoke to his mother and told her that he was not picked in the 11 or 15. But he also said that he would be travelling with the team," Khanchandra shared with Bharat24, his voice filled with a mix of disappointment and pride.

Still in the early days of his India career, Rinku has yet to put a foot wrong. With over 350 runs from 15 T20Is at an average of 89 and a strike-rate of over 175, Rinku was being shaped as the next big finisher, a position that has been left vacant since the legendary MS Dhoni retired. Hardik Pandya was being moulded for the role for the longest time, but the all-rounder has yet to cement it. Rinku, meanwhile, had all the traits to excel as the finisher, but with Shivam Dube getting the preference, the KKR star will have to wait.

Rinku shot to the limelight during last year's IPL when he smacked Yash Dayal for five sixes in the last five balls when KKR needed to knock off 30 to win. He has already hit 20 sixes in his India career, including some match-winning knocks against Australia and in South Africa. Expected to make the cut, Rinku got 'plain unlucky'. Rinku hasn't enjoyed the best of seasons with KKR in terms of performance, scoring 123 runs from nine matches. The player who trumped him. Dube, meanwhile, has set the IPL 2024 on fire with over 350 runs.

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