NEW DELHI: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed concern over Rinku Singh’s form ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, saying his dip in performances could be a key issue for Kolkata Knight Riders to address.KKR begin their campaign against five-time champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on March 29. Rinku heads into the season under scrutiny after a disappointing T20 World Cup where he managed just 24 runs in five innings.
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Shashi Tharoor & Samson’s Redemption Story: From Failure to FameThe left-hander’s innings comes after a remarkable breakthrough in IPL 2023, highlighted by his memorable five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal in a 200-plus chase against Gujarat Titans – an innings that catapulted him to stardom.Taking to his YouTube channel, Pathan reflected on the decline in Rinku’s returns since that standout season and his inability to make the most of his World Cup opportunities.“We will have to see how many opportunities he gets to play. His 2023 season was outstanding. He scored 400-450 runs with a success rate of 150. But after that his performance dipped and he didn’t get enough opportunities many times. He will have to maintain his standard and maximize the opportunities he gets. Even in the World Cup, he played five matches for Kolka but he couldn’t make the most of that chance. He can fix it and Rinku Singh is one of them,” he said.Rinku enjoyed a stellar campaign in 2023, scoring 474 runs in 14 innings at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.52, including four fifties. However, his numbers have dipped since then, with 374 runs in 22 innings at an average of 23.37 and a top score of 38*.Pathan also pointed out that handling the form of Varun Chakravarthy will be another challenge for KKR. The enigmatic spinner started the T20 World Cup strongly, picking up nine wickets in four group-stage matches at an economy rate of just over five, but later saw a sharp decline, managing just five wickets in five matches from the Super Eight stage to the final, with his economy rate rising significantly.Despite the slump, Pathan backed Varun to bounce back and deliver in familiar conditions.“The challenge is how to bring Varun back with confidence given his current dip in form. He will play 14 matches, some of which will be at Kolkata soil and he has definitely done well in this league before. With the good memories he has at Kolkata, maybe in a slightly different atmosphere, he could do even better. I believe he can do it, so even though it is a challenge, Patthy Varun Itakaravar can do it.Last season, Varun finished as the seventh highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps at an average of 22.52 and an economy rate of 7.66, with best figures of 3/22. Overall, he took 99 wickets in 83 matches for KKR, including two four-wicket hauls, with best figures of 5/20.
