Rinku Singh is set to rejoin India’s T20 World Cup squad on Saturday, 28 February, just in time for their Super 8s encounter against the West Indies, a top Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official told India Today. The batter returns following the completion of funeral ceremonies for his father, Khanchand Singh, who succumbed to advanced liver cancer.
Khanchand passed away at Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida after fighting stage 4 liver cancer for an extended period. His health had severely declined in his final days at the medical facility where doctors had been providing care.
The moment news reached him, Rinku departed from Chennai, where the Indian contingent was based and rushed to Aligarh, his family home, to oversee the traditional funeral customs. Videos circulating widely on social media captured a visibly shaken Rinku, donning a blue cap, as he carried his father’s body through the final journey, with heavy security personnel managing the crowds.
The timing couldn’t have been more cruel. Rinku’s personal tragedy unfolded right in the middle of the T20 World Cup. This marked his second emergency departure, where he had previously left the squad when his father’s medical situation became critical before India’s match against Zimbabwe, only to return to Chennai briefly when there seemed to be hope for improvement. Sadly, Khanchand’s health continued its downward spiral.
During the Zimbabwe game, team selectors opted not to include Rinku in the starting eleven, instead bringing in Sanju Samson and Axar Patel to reconfigure the team composition for what was essentially a knockout fixture. The changes saw Samson returning to his opening position, Ishan Kishan dropping down the batting order, and Tilak Varma taking on the role of late-innings aggressor.
Having now fulfilled his final duties to his father, the 27-year-old left-hander is scheduled to reunite with his teammates tomorrow as they gear up for their showdown with the Caribbean side. Whether he’ll be mentally and emotionally prepared to feature in the playing eleven remains uncertain, considering the devastating personal loss he’s just experienced.
Messages of support and sympathy have poured in from across the cricketing fraternity, with players, fans, and officials standing in solidarity with Rinku through this agonising chapter.
