By now, even someone who only follows IPL will have heard of Rinku Singh. Is Rinku the future? What makes him special or does ANYTHING make him special?
6, 6, 6, 6. “Down the ground…. AAAAAND IT GOES FOR SIX AGAIN. I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS ON A CRICKET GROUND. 5 SIXES IN A ROW and the Knightriders somehow, SOMEHOW have won this game by 3 wickets”. This is Rinku Singh. This is how he made headlines, this is how he wrote himself into IPL folklore.
There is so much more to this man than just those 5 sixes and slowly but surely, we are starting to see it.
Rinku Has Got A Future: Andy Flower
For a cricketer and coach of the magnitude of Andy Flower to heap such high praise on Rinku, it can obviously only mean one thing. There is definitely something special about the man.
Coming from a humble background with his father being a hawker, Rinku was not particularly encouraged early on in his career to play cricket. And rightfully so! Very few parents in India would tell their kid to play cricket instead of studying to secure their future.
But Rinku went from strength to strength. From his selection in the U-16 state side on his 3rd attempt to his performances in U-19 cricket and then the Ranji team immediately after, Rinku kept showcasing glimpses of his talent and won the confidence of many people on his journey.
Then came the D-Day. An IPL contract. The first person from Aligarh to get selected for the IPL. Rinku Singh got picked for Kings XI Punjab in 2017 and the year after he got picked by KKR from where his fortunes changed forever!
There’s a lovely video on Rinku Singh that was put out by KKR on YouTube, definitely check it out!
A Knight Is Born
It all came together after Rinku was picked by KKR. The team management groomed him to become their finisher and boy oh boy has it worked wonders!
Working alongside some big names like Brendon McCullum, Abhishek Nayyar & more recently Chandrakant Pandit, Rinku has made sure that the finisher’s role is his not only in the IPL franchise, but also very soon the Indian T20I team!
Rinku also so far has not failed to disappoint in his limited Indian team appearances. He has already finished 2-3 games for India with his calm demeanour and insanely consistent hitting abilities.
While many might think that his success is an overnight story, it might be worthwhile to look at his domestic record before drawing conclusions. Having made his debut for Uttar Pradesh in 2014 for white ball and 2016 for red ball cricket, Rinku boasts of a fantastic domestic record across formats.
He has scored 3000 runs in the Ranji circuit at an average of 57 and almost 2000 runs in the List A format at average of 50! Add to that, his T20 record is staggering with an average of 34 and a smashing strike rate of nearly a 150!
By no means can one call this an overnight success. It is years and years of hardwork that eventually got him here.
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The X-Factor: Rinku Singh
Almost much like Suryakumar Yadav was picked as India’s X-factor in the T20 World Cup, it feels like Rinku will be that pick in the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup. Rinku Singh’s future seems secure at least in the T20 format. He has got the nod for the South Africa series, both in the T20I as well as the ODI squad.
Rinku’s calm demeanour, consistency, clean ball striking and ability to find gaps at will is something that will definitely set him apart from players fighting for that finisher’s position. Add to that, he is a gun fielder.
There also is just something that makes him extremely likeable and he’s a team man through and through.
We would love to know what you think about Rinku and if he is going to be a vital cog for India moving forward! Share your thoughts with us, drop us your comments & questions!