Slow and steady 'finishes' the race

Much like the haze that hangs over Delhi in winter mornings, Team India's plans for next year's T20 World Cup still look a tad misty. There is space for new faces at the top, middle and lower orders, but above it all, looms the need for a perfect finisher, albeit with some hesitation on account of Hardik Pandya's influence.

American baseball legend Yogi Berra's now-famous one-liner, ‘it ain't over until it is over', finds a place to inspire us time and time again, especially for scores of athletes, who find within those words a reason to keep going when the odds are stacked against them. And the likes of Michael Bevan, Lance Klusener, Steve Waugh, and Ajay Jadeja have stuck by this famed phrase each time they held the willow, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni being probably the best of the lot, who bailed India out of dire straits on multiple occasions.

Ever a gentleman and someone, who by dint of statistical gatherings, finished as a dazzling enigma in Indian cricket of the modern era, it will be not at all impractical to judge the true worth of a present-day finisher against Dhoni-esque yardsticks. It's too soon to tell, but there was no way that 26-year-old Rinku Singh could act against his beloved Mahi Bhai's advice when it came to anchoring unlikely victories for India.

"As for my secret to calmness, I had discussions with Mahi (Dhoni) bhai about what he does to stay calm, especially in the last over. He told me to try to remain as calm as possible and try looking straight (at the bowler). That's how I tried to stay calm in the game," Rinku was quoted as saying in a BCCI video last month.

Unlike most emerging T20I batsmen of his generation, playing at No.5 late in the innings, Rinku has never been a slogger but an accumulator, someone who knows how to keep the runs flowing thicker and faster, but hold the pressure at bay.

Having come into the spotlight in the Indian Premier League, he was initially roped in by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for IPL 2017 and has been playing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since 2018. He fared exceptionally well in the 2022 edition and drew eyeballs in the 2023 season for hammering as many as five sixes in an over against Gujarat Titans.

Rinku's IPL figures read 725 runs in 31 matches at an average of 36.25 and a strike rate of 142.16, with four half-centuries. Eventually, he earned his Indian team call-up in August during Men in Blue's Ireland T20I tour.

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When batsmen wilt under pressure, nearly dehydrating from their anxieties, it seems, Rinku, who is only 11 T20Is-old, is at his finest in the face of challenges. His batting may need to have the pleasing aesthetics that one associates with a Ruturaj Gaikwad or a Shubman Gill. No long hops in the middle. There are no massive exaggerated follow-throughs with the ball either. Rinku has none of it. What he does, however, have is an immense calm when the chips are down.

Whether it was his cleverly dissected square of the wicket shots or that familiar display of boundless concentration, Rinku has more often than not stood between India and their opponents like the famous Rock of Gibraltar, unstirred by opponents' efforts of pulling them down.

On most occasions, this phenomenon has resulted in concocting jewels on the 22 yards, such as his blistering 68 not out in 39 balls in the second T20I against South Africa, or that princely 29-ball 46 in a crucial fourth T20I encounter against Australia last month.

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While his calm demeanour and left-handedness earn India's middle-order a fairly delectable advantage, he is yet to lock down his slot for the World Cup. If Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya feature in the tournament, and Ravindra Jadeja remains India's No. 7, Rinku could be shown the door.

But if he continues to punch above his weight like these in the remaining T20Is India play before the World Cup next year and at the IPL, selectors could find it tough to give India's young finisher the slip.