I like playing Test cricket a lot – Rinku Singh wants to play red-ball cricket for India

Indian batter Rinku Singh is determined to play Test cricket for the country. Singh has made his debut in T20Is as well as ODIs but he is yet to receive his maiden Test call-up. The left-hander was recently not picked in the Duleep trophy in four teams, which were selected by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel.

Singh has scored 3173 runs in 47 first-class matches at an average of 54.70 and thus his absence from Duleep trophy squads was surprising.

Singh feels it is easier to play in white-ball formats but the real deal is playing in the multi-day format at the top level.

“I want to play all three formats of the game. I like playing Test cricket a lot. My batting average in red-ball cricket is 55. Mujhe bahut pasand hai laal ball khelna. Bahut maja ata hai mujhe khelne mein. Test cricket is very big cricket. White-ball to sab khelte hai magar Test khelna bahut badi baat hai aaj ke time mein. Toh vo mai khelna chahunga,” Rinku told News 24.

On the other hand, Singh was a tad unlucky to miss out on India’s T20 World Cup squad despite scoring consistently for the national team. Before the T20 World Cup, Singh had scored 356 runs in 11 T20I innings at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.24 and thus his absence was surprising for many experts.

“Every player dreams about playing for the country in the World Cup, and it is my dream as well. I had done well for India, but team selection is not in my hands.”

“Maybe they (selectors) haven’t seen me bowling at that time; otherwise, it would have been a different scenario,” he jokingly said.

“It was the selector’s call, due to team combination (failed to find a place), but no problem; I will play in the World Cup next time. I will work harder,” he added.

Singh should be part of India’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.