One of the surprise developments from the squad announcement was Rinku Singh’s inclusion in the 15-member roster. Rinku did have an ideal season in the IPL 2025, and had moderate outings in the last 10 innings, with scores read – 11, 1, 1, 53, 8, 11, 9, 8, 30, 9, and amassed 141 runs at an average of 20.14. However, the selectors appeared to have picked him to play the role of a finisher.
Speaking at the press conference, Ajit Agarkar stated that Rinku Singh was picked as an extra batter rather than having an extra all-rounder in the squad, resulting in the exclusion of Washington Sundar. Currently, Indian squad has three all-rounders in Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube.