“Hope he does not want to be tagged as a finisher”: Ashish Nehra on Rinku Singh

New Delhi [India], November 30 (ANI): Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra expressed hope that middle-order batter Rinku Singh will find a place in ODIs as well, saying that the left-hander should be looking to excel in all departments instead of staying content with his ‘finisher tag’.

Rinku continues to justify his ‘finisher’ tag during the ongoing India Australia T20I series, notching impressive cameos of 22* in 14 balls and 31* in just nine balls so far in the series.

“This is not the first time he has done it (finish a game). We all have been discussing his role, his power. Not just about his batting, even with the way he throws himself on the field, it shows he is a great team man. He will be a great asset to Indian cricket. Yes, we are talking only about T20 cricket, but who knows tomorrow he can also be playing ODI cricket,” Nehra said on JioCinema.

The former pacer said that he is not really a fan of the word ‘finisher’ since even an opener can be tagged as one if he sticks around and scores a century.

“I am not a big fan of the word ‘finisher’. Your opener can be a finisher, if he scores a hundred, he can finish the game and come back. At times, it can be harsh. Let me give you an example, if the same Rinku Singh does not finish the game once or twice. Coming back to Rinku Singh, he is someone who can even play up the order, I can see him playing in 50-over cricket going forward. He can bat at No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6,” Nehra explained.

“On any odd day, the Indian team can be 40 for 4 in 5-6 overs. And I hope Rinku Singh is ready to play any role, I hope he does not want to be tagged himself as a finisher. He should be looking to excel in all departments,” he added.

Rinku has a great List A cricket record, which also makes him a good fit for ODIs. In 55 List-A games and 50 innings, he has scored 1,844 runs at an average of 49.83, with a century and 17 fifties to his name. His strike rate is 93.98.

The left-hander also has an excellent first-class record, scoring 3,007 runs at an average of 57.82 in 42 matches, with seven centuries and 19 fifties in 63 innings. With these fantastic numbers in longer formats, there is very little doubt about Rinku excelling in all formats of the game.

So far in four T20I innings in eight matches, Rinku has scored 128 runs at an average of 128.00, ending unbeaten thrice. His best score is 38 and his runs have come at a strike rate of almost 217.