Rinku Singh, the left-handed batter from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, has made quite the name for himself ever since he showcased his impressive batting skills in the IPL 2023 season. The 27-year-old rose to fame when he smashed five sixes in an over being bowled by Yash Dayal in the 2023 IPL and hasn’t looked back in his career till this day.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player was born on October 12, 1997, and comes from a humble background. Rinku’s father delivered LPG cylinders to support his family, while Rinku once came too close to quitting cricket in order to assist his father. But fate had other plans for him, and his hard work bore fruit when he made his debut for Uttar Pradesh in 2016 at the young age of 16. The following years, his game made him a standout player in domestic cricket, especially in the 2018-19 season of the Ranji Trophy. He scored 953 runs in 10 matches with an average of 105.8, including four centuries.
The middle-order Indian batter got his first breakthrough in the IPL. KKR bought Rinku but benched him during the initial matches. Once given the chance, Rinku made sure to make the most out of the opportunity. The IPL 2023 season was when he rose to fame; he scored a total of 474 with a strike rate of 149.52. The key highlight of the season was when Rinku hit five consecutive sixes to Yash Dayal in the final over against Gujarat Titans. That moment made him a cult hero overnight.
He made his T20I debut for India in August 2023, following his impressive performance in the IPL. Since then, Rinku has played 33 T20Is, scoring a total of 546 runs with an average of 42.00 and a strike rate of 161.06. Rinku also played his debut ODI match late in the same year. His unbeaten 190-run partnership with Rohit Sharma against Afghanistan is now the highest ever for India in T20Is.
Rinku Singh, with his aggressive and hard-hitting style, has transformed himself from a finisher to a match-winner. A reliable middle-order batter in the making towards greatness makes Rinku a valuable asset as Team India aims to dominate upcoming ICC tournaments.
