Impact Player rule hit Rinku

New Delhi, April 30: The ‘Impact Player’ rule, which has made IPL contests quite literally a “12-a-side affair”, has dealt a raw deal to power-hitter Rinku Singh who couldn’t make the Indian main squad for T20 World Cup as he simply did not have enough game time to his credit.

The 26-year-old Aligarh left-hander, who captured the cricketing world’s imagination with five sixes in an over during the previous IPL, made way for Shivam Dube in the main national squad while his name ended up being among the reserves.

Those who were privy to the selection meeting unanimously agreed that Rinku became an easy omission for the panel because he couldn't be fitted alongside Hardik Pandya and Dube in the same 15.

“No doubt, Rinku paid the price for the Impact Player Rule. He is plain and simple unlucky. Hardik might be in poor form but he is still India’s best seam bowling all-rounder and it would have been a risk dropping him considering he is the only one who has bowled,” a BCCI source said on conditions of anonymity.

So how did the Impact Player Rule become Rinku’s undoing? Kolkata Knight

Riders treated Rinku as a finisher and he never got a chance to bat in the top five. In eight innings before selection, he played merely 82 balls, which is just about 10 balls per innings.

The two Iyers — Venkatesh and skipper Shreyas — along with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who is anything but a power-hitter got a majority of the overs, leaving Rinku with very little to do in the end. One can’t blame KKR for not promoting Rinku but truth be told, the two Iyers were never in contention for national selection. Their names weren’t even up for a discussion. —