Brian Lara Targets Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for Eating Rinku Singh’s Place in T20 World Cup Squad

Brian Lara has a message for Team India’s head coach Rahul Dravid ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The legendary former West Indies batter is sounding the alarm, pointing out a common mistake teams make when they have star players in their lineup. According to Lara, this often backfires in big tournaments.

Lara also noted that Team India has missed out on including some promising youngsters in their T20 World Cup squad in favour of prioritizing superstar players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. While he believes in having faith in experienced players, Lara emphasizes the importance of them stepping up when the team needs them the most.

In an interview with PTI, Lara shared his thoughts, saying, “Sometimes when you have a team with a lot of superstars, you forget the plan and you believe that the superstars can do it. They just have to turn up. Sometimes you may feel, as a coach, intimidated, telling Sir Vivian Richards or Virat Kohli, you know exactly what you expect of them.”

He also expressed that India faces a conundrum with a lot of exciting young players emerging. Lara’s advice to Rahul Dravid is to have a clear plan in place. The West Indian added:

“India have gone with a team that has experience. My advice, and it’s not my criticism, it’s my advice, to Rahul Dravid is to make sure and have a plan.”

It’s worth noting that the BCCI announced India’s 15-member squad on April 30th. The exclusion of Rinku Singh, who has been an exceptional finisher for India in the past year, sparked criticism.

Rinku Singh had seemingly done everything to earn a spot. However, he was left out to make room for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and other experienced players like Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.

On a positive note, Rinku Singh has been added to the travelling reserve and will accompany Team India to the USA and West Indies.