Rinku was a sensation in a blink of the eye. Suddenly, he was the hero that cricket constantly seeks. Rinku was good with the bat, but no one had realised he was this good.<\/p>\n
IPL 2023 | Rinku Singh and his love affair with the Kolkata Knight Riders | Gujarat Titans vs KKR<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI have worked really hard on my game,\u201d Rinku was quoted by KKR<\/a> Knight Club, the IPL<\/a> team\u2019s official website on Monday. \u201cI only wanted to play cricket as I knew there was nothing else for me. I focused only on cricket. It is paying dividends now.\u201d<\/p>\n As he recollected his journey from oblivion to stardom, the youth from Aligarh hasn\u2019t forgotten the crucial crossroad where he had been forced to take a decision that changed his destiny. \u201cFather would hit us whenever he found us playing cricket,\u201d Rinku recalls. \u201cMother was somewhat supportive.\u201d In fact, Rinku\u2019s mother even borrowed Rs 1000 from a neighbouring shop so that he could go to Kanpur for a tournament. 01:45<\/p>\n<\/div>\n IPL 2023: Rinku Singh hits 5 sixes off last 5 balls in stunning win for KKR<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Although he went for the UP state U-16 trials in 2010-11, he could not make the cut. 07:11<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rinku Singh and his love affair with the Kolkata Knight Riders<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Meanwhile, he played in a schools\u2019 tournament, where he was the man-of-the-match in the final and was gifted a motorbike. \u201cNo one in my family had seen so much money,\u201d he says. \u201cWe could pay off our loans and even buy a house.\u201d <\/div>\n
\u201cI hadn\u2019t even started playing cricket when I was asked to take up a job along with my brother. It was to mop the floor of a coaching centre. I refused,\u201d he says with a smile. \u201cI didn\u2019t have academics to back me, yet I chose cricket.\u201d
All the five brothers played the game, even though their father, a hawker, was dead against it. <\/p>\n
Wherever he played, Rinku was noticed for his talent and many people came forward to help. With rustic politeness, he rattles off names of people who lent him a helping hands at some stage of his career.
\u201cI would practice at a government stadium, which did not require a lot of money. All I had to do was to get a card made in my name.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"IPL](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/42706777.gif\"\/ "\\"IPL")
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\u201cI had no idea what is was or what playing at the state level means.\u201d
Next year, he was back at the trials, with a lot more knowledge about what a selection would mean to him. This time, he made the cut and was immediately among runs.
\u201cThings only moved up from there,\u201d Rinku says. His U-19 debut was even better.
\u201cI played in the Ranji Trophy that year itself and did fairly well. That gave me the belief that I could play for India.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cMy father had come to watch the final. He must have realised I was doing something good as he never hit me again for playing cricket.\u201d
Although he made his IPL debut for Punjab in 2017 (Rs 10 lakh), Rinku\u2019s fairytale moment came when he was picked up by KKR the next year for Rs 80 lakh. <\/p>\n
It might be recalled that Rahul Tewatia (ironically, part of the Gujarat Titans squad this year), too smashed five sixes in an over in 2020, which brought him into India contention. Will Rinku\u2019s sixes bring similar fortunes?
Only time will tell whether that happens or not, but bowlers world over will at least start taking Rinku more seriously.<\/p>\n![\"cricket-1-AI\"](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/imgsize-23456,msid-99393735,width-600,resizemode-4\/99393735.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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