Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has raised concerns over the recent dip in form of Rinku Singh, warning it could become a key issue for Kolkata Knight Riders heading into the Indian Premier League 2026. The IPL 2026 is set to begin on March 28, and KKR will open their campaign against Mumbai Indians in a high-profile clash on March 29 in Mumbai. Pathan pointed out that Rinku’s recent struggles are in stark contrast to the explosive impact he made just a few seasons ago. 

Back in 2023, Rinku Singh was a breakout performer after producing a sensational finish against Gujarat Titans, where he smashed five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal in a tense run chase. Following that outstanding season—where Rinku accumulated 474 runs in 14 innings - his numbers have dipped significantly.

“We will have to see how much opportunity he gets to play. His 2023 season was outstanding. He scored 400-450 runs with a strike rate of 150. But after that, his performance dipped, and many times he didn’t get enough opportunities. He will have to maintain his standard and maximize the opportunities he gets. Even in the World Cup, he played five matches, but he couldn’t fully capitalize on the chances he got. This is another problem that Kolkata needs to rectify, and Rinku Singh is one of them,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Across the following seasons, he has managed only 374 runs in 22 innings, with a modest average and no major standout innings. The concern deepened during the recent Men's T20 World Cup, where Rinku failed to make an impact despite multiple opportunities. He struggled to deliver in pressure situations, scoring only 24 runs across five innings.

KKR squad for IPL 2026: Kolkata Knight Riders: Rinku Singh, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rahul Tripathi, Cameron Green, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Rovman Powell, Rachin Ravindra, Anukul Roy, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Tejasvi Singh, Matheesha Pathirana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Mustafizur Rahman, Akash Deep, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra