India’s middle-order batsman Rinku Singh has flown home from Chennai for personal reasons, two days ahead of their Super 8 match against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup. It is understood that Rinku, who arrived in the city with the team on Monday, left for New Delhi on Tuesday morning, but is expected to rejoin the team on Wednesday.
48 hours before the must-win fixture, India had a full-fledged training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Apart from Rinku, the rest of the batting unit had a long and lengthy net session, with Sanju Samson in particular receiving plenty of attention from the coaching staff.
As previously reported by this Masthead, including Samson for the Zimbabwe fixture has been among India’s discussions. With Abhishek Sharma struggling at the top and Ishan Kishan not offering favourable match-ups against the off-spinners, there have been discussions to break the pattern by including Samson. But such a move would see other batsmen drop a position, which could add to the chaos. To prevent that, there have been discussions of slotting Suryakumar Yadav at No 3, which will ensure there is at least one right-hander in the top three.
Which way India lean remains to be seen as they seem to be keeping their options open, as alternatively, the idea of using Shivam Dube as a floater at No 3 also seems to be part of their thinking. The left-hander, who has incredible hitting power against the spinners, can make opponents revisit their strategy of operating with the tweakers in the powerplay.
Meanwhile, a batting-friendly surface has been rolled out for India’s must-win fixture. Pitch No 5 has been handpicked for the match on Thursday, with the surface having already been used for the opening match here between Afghanistan and New Zealand. Unlike other venues, where India have encountered slow, tacky surfaces, the pitch at Chepauk promises runs with a par total expected to be around 180-190. That it is the centre pitch means spinners don’t need to worry about short boundaries.
Having had a full practice session, India have an optional training session in the afternoon on Wednesday. Zimbabwe will practice under lights in the evening.
