image source, YEARS
- Author, Vimal Kumar
- designation, for bbc hindi
It is about Team India's tour of Ireland just a few months ago. Rinku Singh had landed in Ireland from India for the first time by taking a business class flight.
Coincidentally, this writer had arrived at the airport for Team India and it was here that I had my first formal meeting with Rinku.
This young player showed the typical shy attitude of a small town but his self-confidence also showed that he wanted to do something in international cricket.
He does not want to always be remembered only for his 5 sixes overs in IPL.
After a few days, Rinku was playing his first international T20 match in Dublin.
There are thousands of fans of Sanju Samson in that city and most of the spectators who came to watch that match had bought tickets for Sanju only.
But, when Rinku came out to bat, the slogan of “Rinku-Rinku” was echoing in the entire field.
For a young player who was playing his first match, such enthusiasm of Indian fans on foreign soil was beyond belief.
Rinku's crazy
image source, YEARS
Rinku Singh played his first T20 match for India in Ireland on 18 August this year.
After the match was over, when Rinku was returning towards the pavilion, then captain Jasprit Bumrah called him and asked him to go and take selfies with the young fans and also give them autographs.
Along with the sudden shocked expression on Rinku's face, there was also an innocent smile. And perhaps with this smile he has impressed everyone from Suresh Raina to Suryakumar Yadav in his short career.
Rinku himself has said on many occasions that he is a big fan of Raina who comes from his own state Uttar Pradesh and on many occasions the former veteran of Team India has helped this young batsman in every way.
Raina himself has played brilliant innings in the middle-order in pressure moments for Team India and especially his partnerships with Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been famous.
Rinku, incidentally, also shows the same concentration and calm nature as Dhoni in stressful moments.
Rinku also played brilliantly in domestic cricket before the T20 series against Australia.
Recently, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches for her state UP, Rinku scored 256 runs in 7 innings at a strike rate of 170.66.
So far in her 7 T20 career, Rinku's average has been 128 runs and strike rate has been 216.
These are extraordinary figures so early in a career.
This is the reason why current T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, without taking Dhoni's name, pointed towards the glimpse of the former Indian captain in Rinku.
Rinku's stories
image source, YEARS
But, among those who are not tired of praising Rinku today, very few would know what kind of pressure this player has faced in the last few years.
We are not even mentioning the stories of Rinku's family and their financial difficulties, about which everyone has probably heard hundreds of times.
But how many people know that in May 2019, BCCI had banned Rinku for three months because he had gone to play a T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi without taking the permission of the board.
At that time Rinku was very disappointed and sad but this mistake was not done intentionally but unknowingly.
On many occasions, players coming from small towns are not aware of every rule and regulation of BCCI. But, Rinku did not let this incident affect her cricket.
The player who had taken the responsibility of clearing his family's debt (loan of Rs 5 lakh) right from the UP Under 19 era, could never adopt a lax attitude towards this game.
Not just T20 players
image source, YEARS
Don't make the mistake of thinking of Rinku as just a great player in T20 format.
Early in his career (in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy season), Rinku was the second most successful batsman in the elite division when he scored 953 runs in just 13 innings at an average of 105.88.
This included 4 centuries and 3 half-centuries.
In the 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Rinku single-handedly took his state UP to knock out where he scored 379 runs in 6 innings.
There were also 4 half-centuries in this. During this period his average was close to 100 (94.75).
In the month of August this year itself, there was a lot of discussion about Rinku being selected for the Caribbean tour.
But, in the end he could not be a part of the team captained by Hardik Pandya.
Insistence to play India
image source, Getty Images
When I saw Rinku at that time (6th July 2023) i.e. the next day of selection, I realized that this player was definitely disappointed from within but his silent insistence to play for Team India at any cost had become stronger.
Former wicketkeeper batsman of Team India Dinesh Karthik recently posted on social media In one of his posts, he has revealed how former Mumbai batsman and Kolkata Knight Riders assistant batting coach Abhishek Nair has taken tremendous care of him.
Karthik told how Nair kept Rinku in his flat in Mumbai after the IPL and helped him maintain his passion for cricket.
This is the same Nair who has played the role of friend and colleague for players like Karthik and Rohit Sharma in the past.
According to Karthik, Nair had recognized Rinku's talent since 2018 and always used to boost her morale by telling her to think big and do something.
Karthik said that Rinku won the match by hitting a six on the last ball in which his coach Nair acted as a commentator.
Nair and Rinku's Bharat-meeting has gone viral on social media.
However, if Rinku continues to bat like this in the remaining three matches against Australia, he will soon strengthen his claim as a finisher for the T20 World Cup.
