Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) Rinku Singh has been flying under the radar for a long time. Rinku who is a tremendous fielder is compared to the likes of Suresh Raina in domestic cricket but despite several years in IPL he was yet to play an impactful know. On April 9, Rinku enjoyed his moment in sun when he deposited the ball over the boundary five times in a row to get KKR over the line against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT).
After completing a daunting task even the best hitters of the cricket world would not back themselves to do, Rinku did not have tears in his eyes when he showed up for the post-match presentation but his words told a different story.
"My father struggled a lot, I come from a farmer's family. Every ball that I hit out of the ground was dedicated to the people who sacrificed so much for me," the 25-year-old said.
KKR is a product of the KKR academy. His contract of Rs 55 lakh may not justify what he pulled on an adrenaline-filled Sunday evening but he always had a hunger of it since his under-19 side for Uttar Pradesh. He had humble beginnings as father delivered LPG cylinders and the family had a debut of Rs 5 lakh but it did not stop him from giving up on the dream of playing cricket.
In the last season, he showed what his capable of with a 15-ball 40 to almost snatch win from the jaws of defeat against KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). While many thought the game was done and dusted, Rinku approached it in a simple manner.
"(I) had the belief that I could do it. Last year I was in a similar situation in Lucknow. Had the belief back then too. Didn't think too much out there. Those shots just happened one after the other. That last one was back of the hand, and I struck it off the back foot," the southpaw said.
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