Indian cricket in recent times is full of magical stories of rags to reaches and redemption. There are many instances when players from relatively smaller towns are making a name for themselves in Indian cricket thanks to their sheer hard work and perseverance. One of the most intriguing and most discussed stories in recent years is the story of Rinku Singh. With his five sixes in the last over against Gujarat Titans Rinku has become an overnight national sensation. He is the most consistent Kolkata Knight Riders batters this season and saved them multiple times from a difficult situation.
More than just a hitter
Rinku comes from a very humble background in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. His father used to work in LPG distribution company and Rinku had seen extreme poverty around him during his growing up years. Cricket was his love and only way to express himself in stress-free way and he started to make his identity from a very young age. He was playing age group cricket for UP from the age of 15 and was part of Under16, Under19 and Under23 teams before getting called up for the Ranji Trophy and List-A matches for Uttar Pradesh.
He made his Ranji debut in 2016 and there were sparks as he was also picked up by Kings XI Punjab in the 2017 IPL auction. However, he did not get to play a match. His big break came during the next auction when KKR opted for him and secured his service for 80 Lakh. Despite being a popular figure in the squad, the chances were rare for Rinku who played in total 10 matches between 2018 to 2020 scoring just 77 runs with the highest score of 30. There were trolls in social media and posts highlighting how he was not up to the standard of the league. With all this another big blow came in 2021 when a knee injury and subsequent surgery took him out of the IPL 2021.
From being a troll to most dependable name of KKR
Among all the trolls and negative posts what the casual cricket fans missed was Rinku’s domestic performance which was nothing short of brilliant. It is interesting to note, if we go by just numbers, T20 is Rinku’s least successful format. In First-Class cricket Rinku maintains an average of 59.89 after 40 matches with 7 hundreds and 19 fifties. His List-A average is 53.00 with one hundred and 16 fifties. These prove that Rinku has a very good technique and temperament required to be successful at the highest level.
Thankfully the KKR team management showed faith on Rinku in 2022 auction to buy him again. The support he got from this franchise, especially when he was injured, was something that Rinku has mentioned in multiple interviews.Eventually the opportunities started to come more frequently. Last season, his 174 runs came with a strike rate nearing 150 and his breakthrough innings came against Rajasthan Royals when his 23-ball 42 helped the Knights to close a tricky chase.
This year, Rinku has taken his game to another level. He looks even more confident while batting and always looks to be in the hunt especially during a chase. After playing a supporting cameo for Shardul Thakur against Royal Challenges Bangalore, Rinku grabbed all the limelight against the Gujarat Titans with his five consecutive sixes. He scored his first IPL fifty against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the very next game and then scored two more fifties against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. He has shown unreal consistency and become the most dependable KKR player in the absence of the captain Shreyas Iyer. Despite being a number five batter there were four instances already this season when Rinku came to bat even before the team total reached fifty. Moreover, iall those instances Rinku steadied the innings and scored at least 35 runs.
He currently plays a dual role for KKR in the middle order and is considered as one of the best finishers by Andre Russell, one of the greatest finishers of the game. There are also calls from ex-players like Ravi Shastri and Harbhajan Singh to bring Rinku in the Indian set-up as the finisher and the call may come soon. However, Rinku has very less exposure outside India and hence playing in difficult conditions in the SENA countries can be a challenge for him. But as Rinku has shown already in his life and in his game, no challenge or obstacle can stop him from reaching his ultimate goal.
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