Clock's Ticking - Rinku Singh Must Defend His Finisher Tag In IPL 2025

The Indian Premier League (IPL) made Rinku Singh India’s designated finisher in T20Is, but now it could also determine his future ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Being a finisher is like walking a tightrope without a safety net. While “inconsistency” comes with the role, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter can’t afford too many failures in IPL 2025, and he has himself to blame.

Finishing matches in the 20-over format is one of the toughest gigs in the game of cricket. There’s no time to settle, no second chances — just a few balls to turn the game in your team’s favour. And the reason Rinku is where he is because the left-hander has embraced that pressure before. However, the last 12 months or so haven’t unfolded as he would have liked.

That’s right, Rinku did everything right in T20s from 2021 to 2023 - smashing 1,512 runs in 47 innings at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 153.3, and the majority of those runs came batting at No.5 or lower. In this period, Rinku operated at an average of 60.2 and a strike rate of 147.9 for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. 

Even in the IPL, Rinku had back-to-back crazy seasons for KKR, hitting 648 runs across 21 innings at an average of almost 50 and a strike rate of 149.3. The 27-year-old won UP and KKR many games that they shouldn’t have won. Whether it was smoking Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes in the 20th over or getting the better of Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj in multiple games - Rinku was acing every challenge that was being thrown at him.

Everyone was eager to know if Rinku could do the same at the higher level and guess what, the shy and always-smiling batter from Aligarh took to international cricket like a fish to water. In his first 15 T20I innings for India, Rinku scored 416 runs @ 83.2 and a strike rate of 176.3. Rinku was going about his business at a strike rate of 213.49 in death overs.

It seemed like India had finally found a reliable finisher in white-ball cricket — someone who could not only clear the ropes consistently in the death overs but also has the smarts to read and adapt to match situations when needed. Life was good for Rinku, but then the IPL 2024 happened, and his form took a big hit. 

The Knight Riders won an IPL title after 10 years but Rinku could only manage 168 runs in 11 innings at an average of 18.67 and a strike rate of 148.7. The left-hander was the only frontline KKR batter with an average of less than 20. Rinku failed to cross the 30-run mark even once despite coming out to bat before the start of the 13th over in six out of 11 innings.

Now, that strike rate of 148.7 looks quite alright, but that was largely because of his two cameos of 26 off 8 and 20* off 9 against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), respectively. If we take out those two knocks, Rinku’s strike rate read 127.08, which is far from great if you are the finisher of your team. 

The opposition kept him quiet by bowling spin, against whom he had a strike rate of just 115.15 in the IPL 2024. Rinku did hit pacers at 162.5 but averaged only 16.25, getting out to them eight times. And 50 percent of those dismissals came when seamers bowled pace-off deliveries. Back of a length and short deliveries (four dismissals in 32 balls, strike rate 100) was something else Rinku struggled against last season.

India’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 was also announced during the IPL 2024, and Rinku wasn’t included in the main squad despite having insane numbers in T20Is. Indian captain Rohit Sharma and the team management said they wanted three all-rounders in the playing XI, and the conditions in the USA and the West Indies didn’t allow them to pick Rinku in the squad. 

Rohit’s reasoning was understandable, but there’s no denying that Rinku’s underwhelming IPL 2024 also contributed to his World Cup omission — a tournament India dominated without losing a single match. Howbeit, Rinku’s past performances for the Men in Blue was always going to get him back into the set-up after the ICC event and that’s exactly what happened. 

Rinku’s form, however, didn’t change. In his last 18 T20Is, the 27-year-old has scored 190 runs at an average of 21.11 and a strike rate of 138.7. If we take out the series against lower-ranked sides like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, Rinku is averaging JUST 6.9 while striking at less than 100 in 10 innings (vs Sri Lanka, South Africa and England). And that’s a decent sample size.

Rinku is facing the same problem in T20Is that he faced in the IPL 2024. His strike rate against spin has been terrible, which has always been the case, but he used to dominate pace, which somewhat helped him hide his struggles against slower bowlers. Fast bowlers are consistently targeting him with short stuff, and that has minimised his effectiveness in death overs in the last 12 months.

Finishing games is tough, but the competition for spots in Indian cricket is even tougher, especially if you are not offering multiple skill sets. Rinku plays as a pure batter, and his struggles against spin mean India cannot use him in the middle overs. Anyway, India’s middle-order is already packed with the likes of Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel. 

When it comes to finishers, Hardik Pandya is always going to be there, but another poor IPL season could put Rinku’s spot in jeopardy. There’s Ramandeep Singh, who has already played a couple of T20Is. The 27-year-old can bowl a bit of medium pace and just like Rinku, Ramandeep is also an exceptional fielder. The all-round skills of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Riyan Parag will be difficult to ignore, while Shashank Singh can also make a good case for himself with another solid IPL season.

India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has made it clear that form will be the primary criterion for selection in the T20I side, adding a bit of pressure on Rinku amid his recent struggles. Given the role he plays and his past contributions, Rinku will have some extra backing from the Indian team management — much like KKR, who made him their top retention ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

However, the whispers are getting louder with every failure, and a mediocre IPL 2025 could leave the selectors with no choice but to look elsewhere. Rinku will be determined to silence his critics and make it clear he isn’t going anywhere.