From a sweeper in his hometown Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, to bagging contracts worth millions with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, the story of Rinku Singh is inspirational in all facets. Rinku Singh had made his IPL debut in 2018 but until the start of IPL 2022, he had played in only 10 matches for KKR.
Then, with KKR struggling in the middle-order, he was drafted in the eleven against Gujarat Titans where he played a crucial knock of 35 runs from 28 balls, keeping KKR’s run chase alive.
In the next game, versus Delhi Capitals, again Rinku was summoned to do the bailing out task with KKR reeling at 83/6. He played another crucial knock, scoring 23 runs from 16 balls, with the help of three boundaries, giving Nitish Rana able support and the pair took the team’s total to 146, giving KKR a chance to fight.
Former India batsman Suresh Raina, who also hails from Uttar Pradesh as Rinku, felt proud seeing the 24-year-old youngster play a vital knock for KKR. Rinku had been grinding hard over the years before now finally getting the faith of the management.
“Rinku Singh- All the hard work of domestic cricket is paying off now. Very valuable innings played for KKR. Well done my brother. Keep doing good like this and keep raising the name of Uttar Pradesh,” Raina tweeted (translated from Hindi).
Here’s Suresh Raina’s tweet praising youngster Rinku Singh:
रिंकू सिंह- घरेलू क्रिकेट की सारी मेहनत अब रंग ला रही है। केकेआर के लिए खेली गई बेहद कीमती पारी। अच्छा किया मेरे भाई।ऐसे ही अच्छा करते रहो और उत्तर प्रदेश का नाम ऊँचा करते रहो।@rinkusingh235 @KKRiders @DrDJgupta
— Suresh Raina
(@ImRaina) April 28, 2022
(@ImRaina) The left-hander has been with KKR since 2018; in the past four seasons, he had been on a contract worth 80 lakh. Impressed by the youngster, KKR re-bought him in the IPL 2022 mega-auction for 55 lakh.
While Rinku Singh now has a handsome amount in his bank balance, his childhood and teenage life had been anything but comfortable and rosy. In fact, Rinku and his family had lived in debt earlier.
Rinku was born in 1997 in Aligarh to Khanchand Singh who delivered LPG cylinders from an LPG gas agency in Lucknow, where he lived with his parents and four siblings in two rooms in the gas agency’s storage compound.
Growing up as a teenager in a family where ends were difficult to meet, his brother got him a sweeper and cleaner job. When Rinku started playing cricket, he faced immense challenges but his zeal and love for the game kept him going. He won a motorbike for being the best player at a local tournament in Delhi, which he gave to his father for distributing the heavy gas cylinders.
His first IPL contract was with Kings XI Punjab in 2017 worth 10 lakh, but he didn’t get to play any game that season. His and his family’s life changed when KKR bought him for 80 lakh the next season.
Rinku Singh has now played 30 first-class matches in which the southpaw has a stunning record: 2307 runs at an average of 64 and strike rate of 70; he’s hit five centuries and 16 fifties.
In 41 List-A matches, Rinku averages 50 at a strike rate of 93; he’s scored over 1000 runs in T20 cricket at a strike rate of 136. Rinku also bowls handy part-time off-spin.
