Ryan ten Doeschate provides update on Rinku Singh ahead of IND vs ENG 4th T20I

India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has revealed that Rinku Singh is fit and he will be ready for the fourth T20I against England. The left-hander had missed the last two games against the visitors due to back spasms, which he suffered while playing at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in the opening game.

Dhruv Jurel played in place of Rinku Singh in the last two games but he was pushed down the order by the team management. 

Meanwhile, Singh has been a consistent performer for India since he made his T20I debut against Ireland in 2023. The left-hander has scored 507 runs in 22 T20I innings at an average of 46.09 and a strike rate of 165.15.

“Rinku is fit. He played the first game, hurt himself and missed the next two. But I would imagine Rinku comes back in as soon as he’s proper fit. He batted the other night and I think he’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” Ryan ten Doeschate said in a pre-match press conference ahead of the fourth T20I.

The former Dutch batter defended the think tank decision to bat Dhruv Jurel at number eight in the third T20I at Rajkot. 

“You could argue that we don’t want Dhruv Jurel batting at number 8. But I also think if you look at the blueprint of any of Gambhir’s teams that he has coached since he’s been coaching T20 cricket, it is a big part of how he likes to set up,” ten Doeschate said.

Doeschate revealed they want to back players for longer runs and not judge them on the basis of a few matches.

“Particularly the other night, like I said, with Dhruv coming in at 8, I don’t think we got to see the best of him. But we do believe that it’s a big part of strategy in these games. Again, going back to my point, we want to give guys a long enough opportunity to show how good they are because we believe in the medium to long term, guys will show how good they are,” he added.

The fourth T20I between India and England will take place at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Friday.