Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be back in action for West Indies ODIs.
Rohit Sharma, 39, and Virat Kohli, 37, have retired from Tests and T20Is in 2024 and 2025, respectively, but have continued to play in the ODI format for India. Kohli has been wonderful in the format since last year, and Rohit, after going through a rough patch, scored a brilliant ton in the last ODI he played at Lord’s.
"They are legends, both Virat Bhaiya and Rohit Bhaiya. Not just me, but the entire nation hopes that they play in the World Cup and are part of the team that goes on to win it. It would be a huge moment for the whole country, as who knows, it could be their last World Cup. So, it would be huge if they could win it for India. It would be huge for them as well because we haven't won the World Cup in a long time. We last won it in 2011. So, we hope both of them are with the team and that they lift that trophy," Rinku told JioStar.
While he rose to national prominence after smashing five consecutive sixes in an over during an IPL 2023 game for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Rinku stated that his ultimate career aim is to win more World Cups.
“Right now, people know me for hitting those five sixes in one over. What's on my mind right now is that I want to win the World Cup for Team India, being part of the team, contributing with the bat, and helping India win the World Cup. I want people to know me more for that, rather than just the five sixes,” Rinku said.
Rinku Singh has established himself as a finisher in T20s and has not been picked by the Men in Blue side since the Zimbabwe T20I tour. He discarded the idea of him just being a white-ball specialist and stressed his strong performance in first-class cricket within the country.
"There's a bit of that perception that I'm just a one-format player. But you can look at my average in domestic cricket, whether it's in one-dayers or four-day matches. I have a dream of playing Test cricket for India as well.
So, people shouldn't view me as a single-format player. I can play all three formats, and I do play all three formats in domestic cricket. But for India, I play only one format at the moment,” Rinku said.
On the issue of building his leadership credentials, Rinku added that he still had a long way to go as he was learning from experienced leaders in domestic and franchise cricket.
"I'm still growing as far as captaincy is concerned. I was captain in the UP League, and I became a champion with my team. Last season, I was the vice-captain in the IPL. So, I'm learning the ropes of captaincy, a bit from Ajju Bhai (Ajinkya Rahane) at KKR and from many others. I played a lot with Surya Bhai, so I kept observing him in the Indian team for two years and watching how he leads. I'm working on my leadership skills, and hopefully, something good is in store for me in captaincy,” Rinku revealed.
Rinku Singh had recently won the UP T20 League title while captaining the Meerut Mavericks side.
(IANS inputs)