Kolkata Knight Riders’ journey in IPL 2022 may have come to an end but it was a fantastic way to go out. With their backs to the wall while chasing a score of over 200 against Lucknow Super Giants, the two-time IPL champions took the game deep. They even looked like they were about to win in the final over before yet another twist in the tale saw LSG end up winning by just two runs.
An important architect of KKR’s run-chase effort was Rinku Singh who has shown plenty of guts, intent and effort whenever he has appeared on the field with the franchise. Rinku smashed 40 off just 15 deliveries and had it not been for a blinder of a catch taken by Evin Lewis in the final few deliveries, he may have finished off the game in style for KKR.
Speaking at the post match press conference, head coach Brendon McCullum was full of praise for the left-hander. He confirmed that KKR, as a franchise, were going to invest in Rinku Singh going forward as he has shown his talents and abilities on several occasions. The former New Zealand captain also reserved high praise for the left-hander and suggested that he could also ‘challenge for higher honors’ in the future.
“Rinku Singh is a player whom KKR will surely invest in over the next few years and we’ll see him progress. Maybe he’ll even challenge for higher honors in time as well. Because not too many people can bat like that in the middle-order and pull games out of the fire like he has almost done for us on a couple of occasions.”
Rinku Singh’s journey as a cricketer has also been an inspiring one. Although he has been with Kolkata Knight Riders for nearly five years, he hasn’t seen too many appearances. Coming from extremely humble beginnings, Rinku has had to struggle and fight hard for where he stands today.
Despite the challenges and the setbacks, he has never been bogged down by the weight of it. Rinku always has a smile on his face and his camaraderie with the rest of the players makes him an invaluable asset to have. Therefore, when he took the league by storm, cricket lovers were unanimous in their appreciation of him.
In the seven matches he has played in IPL 2022, Rinku has scored 174 runs at a wonderful strike rate of 148.72.
