Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh has impressed one and all with his dazzling exploits in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
In five matches thus far, Rinku has amassed 174 runs at an average of 58 and a brilliant strike rate of 162.61.
The highlight of Rinku’s performance in the IPL 2023 is his brutal 48* off 21 balls against the defending champions Gujarat Titans. In that game, KKR needed 29 off the last over and Rinku slammed Yash Dayal for five successive sixes to take his team over the line.
Amidst his stellar showing, Rinku Singh has received a word of advice from none other than the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
While Gavaskar feels what Rinku has done so far makes for an exemplary feat, he advised the youngster to deal with this overnight success in a better way.
"Of course, he will now be the centre of a lot of eyes and will be in demand a lot more than he was a week or so back. How he and his family handle the sudden public gaze will determine how he progresses in his career. There is absolutely nothing wrong in letting success go to one's head for as sure as night follows day there will be a fall. How one picks oneself up after the fall is important, and it's here that the family and genuine well-wishers play an important role," Gavaskar wrote in Mid-Day.
"They are the ones who lift you up and reinforce the belief that you can do it again. When that happens, the person is not just a better player but a better human being for having seen both sides of the coin and knowing which is the one he should be going after. Many have faded after succeeding simply because there was no backup from family and friends," he added.
Gavaskar also rated Rinku's innings against GT a notch above Yuvraj Singh's six sixes against Stuart Broad at the T20 World Cup 2007.
"More than five sixes in an over have been hit before most notably by Yuvraj Singh and that too in an ICC T20 World Cup, but to hit five consecutive ones off the last five deliveries in the match and that too when 30 runs were needed to win makes it a fairy tale-like never before. The poise, the balance and the ferocity with which they were struck was jaw dropping because when you see Rinku Singh from close quarters, he is not a big-built powerful looking person but an average guy who would not grab attention straightaway," he remarked.
