Who would’ve thought a few years ago that Rinku Singh who couldn’t find a place in his IPL franchise, would become an important player for Team India in the T20I setup? The journey of Rinku Singh from a small village in UP to become a star cricket player is surely one to be remembered. Rinku came under the scanner scoring some blistering knocks in the junior and domestic circuits, Punjab Kings noticed his talent and picked him up in the auction in 2017 only to be released the following year when he was picked by KKR his current IPL team.
Making his mark in the IPL
He couldn’t reach the expectations and performed poorly during his initial few seasons and didn’t have his place in the team until the end of the 2022 season when he scored an unbeaten knock of 42 helping KKR win and finish a rather disappointing tournament on a good note.
In 2023 he became a starter for KKR and played every match, this season has turned out to be the breakout season for him as he stunned everyone with his batting skills, exhibiting his hitting range and brute power. The innings he played against GT where he smashed 5 sixes in the last over to win the game for KKR has to be one of the greatest knocks ever in IPL.
He played similar innings against LSG in the last match of the season but couldn’t take his team home as they fell short by 2 runs. The Indian Team call-up looked around the corner as he showed great form in the domestic circuit.
Rinku Singh’s Debut for India
The Indian team call-up arrived soon in August when India toured Ireland for a 3-match T20I series just before the Asia Cup. He didn’t get a chance to bat in his first game for the country but in his second he showed he could perform at the international level. He followed up his good performances in the Asian Games 2023, where India clinched the gold medal.
This Australian was going to be the real test for him on the International stage and he truly delivered in style in every match he got an opportunity to bat scoring an unbeaten 22 in the first, a 9-ball 31 in the second, and most recently a 46 runs knock coming in when India was in trouble at 66-3 in the fourth game which helped India post a decent total on the board and won the game eventually.
It is too early to draw any comparisons but the way he keeps his calm at the crease and the way he finishes the games certainly reminds people of that one-player as Surya said in his post-match interview. I hope he keeps delivering for the country and brings many more accolades in the future.
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