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Afghanistan's cricketer Rahmanullah Gurbaz recently shared a humorous episode with his teammate Rinku Singh, showcasing the friendly rapport they have developed. This incident took place following the first T20I match between India and Afghanistan on January 11 at Mohali's PCA Stadium.
While on a flight, Rinku Singh, who was asleep, became the subject of a playful prank by Gurbaz. Gurbaz, seizing the moment, mischievously poked Rinku's nose, promptly waking him up. The two players, who are also teammates at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, then shared a moment of laughter and brotherly affection. This light-hearted interaction was captured and shared on the official Instagram account of KKR, aptly captioned with a reference to their strong bond, highlighting the spirit of "bhaichara" (brotherhood).
On of the fans wrote, “Divided by nations, United by friendship,” while other wrote, “Destroyer of other team bowlers.”
Gurbaz, known for his aggressive batting style, however, had a challenging time in the first match of the T20I series against India. He managed to score 23 runs from 28 deliveries, which included two boundaries and a six. His innings was curtailed by Axar Patel in the eighth over of the match. Despite his struggles with the bat, Gurbaz demonstrated his skills behind the stumps, effecting the stumping of Indian opener Shubman Gill and contributing to the run-out of Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Rinku, contrastingly, continued to enhance his reputation as a reliable middle-order batsman for India in the T20I format. In the previous match, he played a steady knock, scoring an unbeaten 16 runs off nine balls, which included two boundaries. His quickfire batting helped in building a vital 42-run partnership with Shivam Dube, who was later named Player of the Match.
Since his T20I debut against Ireland, Rinku has been a consistent performer for India. He has accumulated 278 runs across 13 T20I matches at an impressive average of 69.50 and a strike rate of 180.52. His highest score in this format is 68, a testament to his batting prowess and potential in the shortest format of the game.
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