Who will be India’s specialist hitter in the death overs in America and the Caribbean? That is the question which strikes you immediately when you scroll down the names in the most likely first-choice XI for the T20 World Cup in June - Rohit, Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, SKY, Pant, Hardik, Jadeja, and Kuldeep.

Have India made a major blunder by naming Rinku Singh in the reserves? With Hardik Pandya being named the vice-captain, have they closed the door for Shivam Dube? If Rishabh Pant is the preferred wicket-keeper, where does that leave Sanju Samson? And where is Dinesh Karthik – India’s designated slog-over specialist in the last tournament in Australia in 2022 - who has also been in prime form in the current IPL season?

The case for Rinku Singh

356 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 176.2. Six high impact performances, two mini-cameos and just two outright failures. That is what Rinku Singh has already achieved in his short T20I career for India – all from the number 5 and 6 positions. No batter in the world, with the exception of Tim David, has scored more runs in the death overs (17-20) in T20 cricket than Rinku Singh since the start of 2023. It gets better. Amongst the 52 batters who have scored a minimum of 200 runs in at least 15 innings, Rinku has the second-highest strike rate of 215.5 in the death overs – only behind Heinrich Klaasen. Just for perspective, Rinku has been more destructive in this phase of play than Andre Russell, Tristan Stubbs, Nicholas Pooran and Tim David amongst others!

Daring, uninhibited, flamboyant coupled with brute strength, timing and a sense of the occasion – Rinku had made giant strides since his breakthrough season in the IPL in 2023 where he was the leading run-getter for the Knight Riders batting from the lower-order.

Having showcased his hitting prowess in the premier domestic tournament of the country, taken it up a few notches in the most prestigious T20 league in the world and finally repeating his feats consistently at the highest level for his country, the time had come for Rinku to unleash at the biggest stage of them all – the T20 World Cup – where he could have been the game-changer for India in the lower-order.

Why did the selectors miss this obvious trajectory? Were they blinded by his numbers this season? Rinku has not produced the outlandish performances this season but that is more due to a lack of opportunities than his own form. With KKR’s top-order firing on all cylinders, Rinku has not had a chance to showcase his destructive game this season. He still produced a couple of cameos against the Royals and the Capitals, though those may have been lost amongst the carnage of fours and sixes by Sunil Narine and Phil Salt.

Rinku could have been India’s answer to a Klaasen for South Africa, a Liam Livingstone for England, a Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer for the West Indies, a Glenn Philips for New Zealand and possibly a Glenn Maxwell or Tim David for Australia. Instead, the Indian think-tank seems to have trusted the old brigade to do the job in the death overs. And this could prove very costly for India at the World Cup.

The credentials of Pant, Hardik and Jadeja in the death overs

Pant has never been a great T20I batter. In fact, his record in the format is poor. The left-hander has an aggregate of 987 runs in 56 innings for India at an average of 22.4 and strike rate of 126.4 with just three fifties. Pant’s strike rate in the death overs of 154.8 places him in the lowest cluster since his debut in 2017.

Pant may have scored 398 runs at a strike rate of 158.6 this season in the IPL but a closer scrutiny of his numbers would suggest that he has produced just one real high-impact performance – and that was his unbeaten 88 off 43 deliveries against the Titans. Pant is not the same destructive beast he was in 2018 and 2019, where he intimidated bowlers and scored at a rate of close to 170.

Pant also has one more limitation in the way he approaches his innings in T20 cricket. He likes to play himself in and consume a few deliveries before changing gears. That may not be the best strategy for India given he is likely to bat at number 6 in the slog overs. Pant’s strike rate in the first 10 balls even in this IPL season is as low as 119.4!

It is the same problem with Hardik – the T20 batter. He was at his peak in 2019 and 2020 where he struck at a rate of 180+ playing a significant role in Mumbai Indian’s successive title triumphs in the IPL. Since then, however, he has struggled to up the ante and played more the role of an anchor even for the Titans in the last two IPL seasons. Hardik had a poor outing for India with the bat in 2023 striking only at 110.5 batting at number 5 or 6.

Ravindra Jadeja has also seen his hitting prowess dip in the last few seasons in the IPL. From a strike rate of 214 in 2020 and 195 in 2021, he has plummeted to 157 in 2023 and 160 in 2024 – not good enough for a number 7 batter in contemporary T20 cricket! It is the same story for India. Jadeja had a death strike rate of 229 in 2020 which has gone down to as low as 131 in 2023.

Dube and Samson better candidates

Shivam Dube has witnessed a dramatic transformation in his IPL career in the last three seasons. From an average of 22 and strike rate of 120.5 between 2019 and 2021, he is scoring 39 per dismissal and striking at 162 in the last three editions. Dube has been in brilliant form this season in the IPL too and has scored 350 runs for CSK at a strike rate of 172. His death over strike rate in all T20 cricket since 2022 is 190.6 and in current form, he is a better finisher than Pant, Hardik and Jadeja. However, Dube is in direct competition with Hardik for a place in the playing XI and will lose out to his vice-captain at the World Cup.

Samson has also been at his brilliant best this IPL season with 385 runs at a strike rate of 161 including four high impact performances with the bat. He has a strike rate of 210 in the death overs and 137.5 off the first 10 deliveries in the innings this season – on both counts, miles ahead of Pant but if reports are to be believed, is behind in the pecking order.

Dinesh Karthik was billed to be the specialist in the death overs ahead of the last T20 World Cup but failed to live up to his pre-tournament form and hype in the mega event in Australia in 2022. He has not represented India in the format thereafter and even after his exploits in the slog overs in this IPL, he has not found favour with the selectors.

If the trends in this season of the IPL are anything to go by, the 2024 T20 World Cup in America and the Caribbean promises to be a tournament dominated by the batters. The power-hitters at the death could well be the X-factor in the tournament. India might have missed a trick or two here by not going for their best combination.

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