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India batter Rinku Singh has left the team during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in the middle of the tournament after the death of his long-ailing father, official sources told AFP.
The middle-order batter had rejoined India ahead of Thursday’s Super Eights victory against Zimbabwe, but did not feature in the playing XI in Chennai.
India hammered Zimbabwe by 72 runs to move into a winner-takes-all decider against the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday for a last semi-final berth.
Notably, he has endured a difficult campaign in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 so far, managing scores of 6, 1, 11* and 6 not out during the group stage.
His struggles continued in the Super Eight clash against South Africa in Ahmedabad, where he was dismissed for a two-ball duck in India’s 76-run defeat.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said Rinku’s father, Khanchand Singh, had been battling liver cancer and died Friday morning at a hospital on the outskirts of New Delhi.
An attacking left-hander, 28-year-old Singh emerged as a finisher for his Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders before making his place in the Indian T20 team.
Singh rose from a humble background, with viral videos of his father delivering gas cylinders emerging after he made his India debut in 2023.
Tributes poured in from former cricketers for Rinku’s father.
“This must be an especially difficult time for Rinku and his family,” former spinner Harbhajan Singh wrote on X.
