Rinku Singh, the left-handed batter from Uttar Pradesh, won everybody’s heart with his brilliant performance for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2022, especially in their last game against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 18.
Singh, who has been a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders since 2018, played a mind-boggling knock of 40 runs off 15 balls and took his team to the brink of victory, but KKR lost the match by 2 runs and got knocked out of the race for playoffs.
In a video posted on KKR’s official Facebook page, Rinku Singh opened up about his fair share of dealings with all kinds of obstacles, from financial hardships to severe injuries.
After having a great Ranji Trophy season (2018-2019), finishing as the third-highest run-getter with 953 runs with 4 centuries, Rinku Singh faced a major setback in the form of a three-month suspension from the BCCI in 2019 for playing in a T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi.
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To add to the never-ending list of his difficulties, Rinku got a knee injury during a Vijay Hazare Trophy match in 2021 that forced him to stay away from the game for about 6-7 months. Staying strong in the face of adversities, he kept working hard, which paved the way for all the love he is receiving today.
Speaking about the experiences, Rinku said, “I wasn’t happy staying away from cricket for so long. My father didn’t eat for 2-3 days. I told him it’s just an injury and it’s part of cricket. I’m the sole breadwinner of my life and when such things happen, it is bound to be worrisome."
Adding on, he said, “Those 5 years were really tough for me. After the first year, when I was picked for KKR and I got a chance to play, I couldn’t perform well. Still, KKR trusted me a lot and they retained me for the next couple of seasons."
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Rinku was picked by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2017 but failed to get a chance. He was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 auction for Rs 80 lakh. He remained with KKR till 2021 when he was ruled out of IPL due to a knee injury and was later replaced by Gurkeerat Singh Mann. KKR again bought him in February this year for IPL 2022.
“I trained hard the way my body language is. The team never thought I was down. Last year was quite tough for me as I got a knee injury during the Vijay Hazare Trophy while running a double. The moment I fell, I thought of the IPL. They told me I needed an operation and would require 6-7 months to recover.I was a bit sad, but I knew I would recover quickly as I had a lot of self-belief," the southpaw added.
(IANS inputs)
