Rinku Singh made his first appearance in the IPL 2022 match against Gujarat Titans, where he made an impact with his fielding skills by taking four crucial catches, including the wicket of Titans captain Hardik Pandya. When it was time for him to bat, KKR was struggling at 36/4 while chasing 157 runs. With the help of Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku played a vital role in stabilizing the innings and scored a fluent 35-run knock off 28 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, KKR lost the game by 8 runs.
This was only Rinku’s 11th IPL match, even though he made his debut in 2018. He has been with KKR for the past four seasons and was on a contract worth 80 lakhs. Impressed by his performance, KKR re-bought him in the IPL 2022 mega-auction for 55 lakhs. However, Rinku’s childhood and teenage years were far from comfortable. His family had lived in debt, and he had to work as a sweeper and cleaner before taking up cricket.
Rinku was born in 1997 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, to Khanchand Singh, who delivered LPG cylinders from an LPG gas agency in Lucknow. He lived with his parents and four siblings in two rooms in the gas agency’s storage compound. Despite facing immense challenges, Rinku’s passion and love for cricket kept him going. He won a motorbike for being the best player at a local tournament in Delhi, which he gave to his father for distributing the heavy gas cylinders.
Rinku’s first IPL contract was with Kings XI Punjab in 2017, which was worth 10 lakhs, but he did not get to play any games that season. However, his life and that of his family changed when KKR bought him for 80 lakhs the next season. Rinku was thrilled with the news and said he could contribute to his big brother’s wedding and save up for his sister’s wedding too. He also hoped to move into a better house.
Rinku has played 30 first-class matches, where he has an impressive record of 2307 runs at an average of 64 and a strike rate of 70. He has hit five centuries and 16 fifties. In 41 List-A matches, Rinku averages 50 at a strike rate of 93, and he has scored over 1000 runs in T20 cricket at a strike rate of 136. He also bowls handy part-time off-spin.
