IPL 2023: Rinku Singh turns hardships into miracles – with a smile on his face

Rinku Singh is not your regular modern-day cricketer.

Don’t let the big tattoo on his right forearm or the massive following on Instagram fool you as the 25-year-old remains untouched by the glitz and glamour. The boy from Aligarh has grown into a massive match-winner for his state Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL but remains deeply rooted to the soil he comes from.

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IPL stints initiated steady inflow of money into the Singh household, which had struggled to make ends meet, but they had to wait nearly six years for this blockbuster moment. After making his debut in the cash-rich league in the 2018 (didn’t get a game for KXIP in 2017 season), the diminutive southpaw carved his place in the IPL folklore with five consecutive sixes in the last over of the IPL 2023 contest against Gujarat Titans on Sunday.

With nerves of steel and ice-cold temperament, Rinku did the unthinkable, the unimaginable and the unbelievable. He stood like a rock and gave his UP teammate Yash Dayal the hammering of his life. Not one hit was premeditated, not one movement showed panic and not once did he look to do something different or silly. He played each delivery on merit and served a masterclass on staying cool under pressure. Immense pressure!

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Before the last-over heroics, the social media was divided on Rinku coming ahead of Andre Russell and even Sunil Narine in the mammoth chase which was derailed by Rashid Khan’s hat-trick over. The chatter grew louder after Rinku’s slow start – 14-ball 8 – but the left-hander shut everyone up. And how! He hit six sixes and one four off the next seven deliveries he faced and pocketed two points out of nowhere for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Rinku is an emotion

After hitting the winning runs, Rinku dashed towards the dugout, punched his chest and nearly lost his balance. These were winning grunts and aggression but all you could do was smile and applaud the moment. His is a story and a journey littered with hardships and obstacles but he fought them through, with a smile on his lips. With infectious energy and positivity, Rinku bats with a lot of self-belief and clearly enjoys pulling off heists for KKR. He nearly did something spectacularly similar against Lucknow Super Giants last year but got the job done against Gujarat Titans.

He hugged his skipper and long-time friend Nitish Rana and soaked in the moment as teammates jumped in and celebrated a special knock. Even veteran coach Chandrakant Pandit couldn’t hide his emotions and was pumped up when he hugged the left-hander after the win. There was a video call with regular skipper Shreyas Iyer next and the humility with which he talked during the conversation is a rare sight these days. “God’s plan,” he said to Shreyas, possibly a reference of the famous song by rapper Drake, during the phone call and the smile never left his lips.

A “tera yaar hoon main” reel followed but story of the day came our way when Rana revealed that Rinku used his bat to fashion the win.

Borrowed bat

Rana decided to change his bat for this fixture and didn’t use the willow he used for some games last season – the entire Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and first two fixtures of IPL 2023. The Delhi batter got a request from Rinku for the bat for this game and when he gave him the options, he was certain Rinku will pick that piece.

“Mai dena nahi chahta tha (the match bat) but someone from inside got the bats and I knew Rinku will pick this bat because it had a good pickup and slightly light. Rinku ka hi hai ye, mera nahi hai ab. Le liya usne mere se [I didn’t want to give him the bat but someone from inside got it. I knew he would pick this one because it has a good pickup and is slightly light. Now it is Rinku’s, not mine. He took it from me],” said Rana in a video uploaded by KKR on social media.

The bat used by Rinku had Rana’s initials “NR 27” engraved on it but it will be stamped with “RS 35” (Rinku’s initials and jersey number) and find a place in the three-storey house in Rambagh colony of Aligarh.

Self-belief

From his conduct on and off the field, Rinku oozes self-belief. He has fashioned numerous victories out of nowhere for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit and is now making similar impact for KKR in the IPL. It’s not over till Rinku is done and oppositions will not dare to write KKR off when the left-hander is still out in the middle. He backs himself, backs his skills and immense self-belief does the rest.

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Before his cricketing journey took shape, Rinku, around 13 years back, was forced to take up cleaning work to financially support his family. He turned it down and assured his mother that he will do so with his cricket and not by mopping and sweeping dirty floors. He was determined to make it big, and he did.

Rinku climbed the ladder with consistent shows in the domestic circuit, was selected for India A before a ban by BCCI halted the next step, faced an injury set-back, was not getting enough game-time in the IPL but he didn’t stop believing.

He will probably get more ink on his body, some diamond studs on the ear, funky hairstyle, more definition in the beard in future but will continue to be the boy from Aligarh who dreamt big and conquered them — one smile at a time.

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