Dinesh Karthik, the experienced Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, recently highlighted the significant influence of Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, on the budding career of Rinku Singh. This acknowledgment came following Singh's outstanding performance in the nail-biting first T20I against Australia, where his crucial innings helped India clinch a two-wicket victory in Vizag. Singh's unbeaten 22 runs off 14 balls were instrumental in India chasing down a challenging target of 209 with just a ball to spare.
The relationship between Nayar and Singh dates back to 2018, during their time together at KKR. Karthik shared insights into how Nayar recognized Singh's potential early on, foreseeing his future achievements in the sport. Coming from the modest backdrop of Aligarh, Rinku Singh benefitted immensely from Nayar's guidance, which was pivotal in transforming his mindset and refining his skills, particularly in death-hitting scenarios.
"The relationship between ABHISHEK NAYAR and RINKU SINGH. It was a partnership that started in 2018 during my time at KKR. Nayar always saw the potential in Rinku, he kept telling me, it was only a matter of time before he did something really special. Coming from a small town in Aligarh, all he needed was to think big, and I think that shift in mindset was what Nayar worked with Rinku majorly about apart from fine-tuning his death-hitting skills," Karthik wrote while sharing a photo of Abhishek hugging Rinku.
Karthik also recounted an incident where Nayar played a crucial role during Singh's injury phase. Nayar convinced KKR CEO Venky Mysore to retain Singh in the team despite his injury, ensuring he remained part of the squad and continued to travel with the team. Following the IPL season, Singh spent several months at Nayar's residence for rehabilitation, where he also received extensive batting training.
"Even during the time he had an ACL injury, Nayar convinced @VenkyMysore sir who gracefully accepted Rinku to be part of the team and made him travel and stay with KKR. He stayed in Nayar's house post IPL for many months for Rehab and started working on his batting and had a stellar domestic season and then eventually did what Nayar and KKR always thought he could do, a MATCH WINNING FINISHER," Karthik continued.
Karthik expressed his appreciation for Nayar's development as a coach and the positive impact he has had on young players like Singh. He concluded by lauding both Nayar for his coaching acumen and Singh for his emerging success, expressing eagerness for more such inspiring stories in the future. This mentor-protégé story between Nayar and Singh at KKR exemplifies the crucial role of nurturing and guidance in the development of young cricket talent.
"And today when I see this photo, I just feel like NAYAR as a coach has grown in stature and can share the happiness he feels for Rinku along with the rest of the world. Must be a surreal feeling seeing one of your students do well on a world stage and also be lucky enough to watch it live as a broadcaster and call the moment. Well done @abhisheknayar1 and @rinkusingh235. To many more such stories," Karthik added.
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