In an interview with RevSportz, Rinku Singh, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ batter, had spoken of he would love to finish matches for his team this season. And as the matches come thick and fast with the play-offs looming, Rinku, the 25 year old from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, has grown into the role.
“I must play according to the situation,” he had told RevSportz. “I normally go in to bat at No.5 or 6, and I want to finish games. I will not take any pressure. I will back myself and score runs for the team.”
In a team that has relied on the big-hitting prowess of Andre Russell for a decade, Rinku has proved to be much more than just an able foil. On Monday night, in a must-win game against Punjab Kings, Russell and Rinku managed to take KKR home. Rinku hit the winning four, off the last ball bowled by Arshdeep Singh.
Also Read: Rinku Singh – Remember the Name
Russell, who has been there and done that many times in the past, was full of admiration for Rinku’s ability to keep a cool head in such a pressure situation. “What I have noticed in Rinku is that he is very calm,” said Russell. “When you are a batter, you must have an open mind and be relaxed. You cannot expect only a full-pitch delivery. You must expect all kinds of deliveries — a slower one, slower wide ball, a yorker, a short one – and Rinku gets into a position from where he can face any delivery and have a shot for it. That is the key to his success.”
Russell also emphasised the need to not be carried away by the hype and adulation. “His technique is very simple and the way he picks up his bat at everything, it has been going good for him,” said Russell. “I have been encouraging whenever I get a chance to talk to him. I always tell him to stay humbe. It does not matter how many people are shouting ‘Russell, Russell, Russell’. I always stay humble because when it gets into your head, that is when you start to lose it.
“I am very happy for him and he is a good friend of mine, a very funny guy. I love him as a brother. I just want him to keep doing what he is doing, and keep being consistent.”
Despite Russell’s presence and a game-changing 23-ball 42 from the Jamaican, chants of ‘Rinku, Rinku’ filled the Eden Gardens as he once again finished off a game for KKR. It said much of the progress that Rinku, barely known outside team circles, has made in a season that hasn’t always gone smoothly for his side.
“I keep telling him to believe in himself, because what you have done, don’t think anyone ever will,” said Nitish Rana, the KKR captain, at the post-match presentation. “If you can do that, you can do anything. When he was batting, the whole crowd was going ‘Rinku Rinku’, and I think this is what he has earned this season.”