Rinku Khanchand Singh is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team. He made his international debut in August 2023 against Ireland. He plays for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket. He is a left-handed middle order batsman and a right-handed off-spinner. He is best known for his innings on 9 April 2023, where he helped his franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders, defeat the Gujarat Titans by hitting 5 consecutive sixes in the last 5 balls of the last over of the match.

Childhood

• Rinku Singh was interested in cricket from a young age and started playing at the under-16 level for Uttar Pradesh. He worked hard to improve his skills and was soon selected for the under-19 team of Uttar Pradesh.
• In 2016, Rinku Singh was a part of the Uttar Pradesh under-19 team that reached the finals of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. His consistent performances in the under-19 level earned him a spot in the Uttar Pradesh senior team.
• Rinku Singh's family background is not well known, but he has mentioned in interviews that his parents were supportive of his cricketing ambitions. It is unclear if he had any siblings or other family members who played cricket or were involved in sports.
• Overall, while details about Rinku Singh's childhood life are limited, it is clear that he had a passion for cricket from a young age and worked hard to achieve success in the sport.

Struggles

• Rinku Singh's journey to professional cricket was not without struggles. One of the major obstacles he faced was financial difficulties, which made it challenging for him to pursue his cricketing dreams.
• Rinku Singh's family did not have much money, and he had to work hard to support himself and his cricketing ambitions. He has mentioned in interviews that he used to work as a carpenter's apprentice and also as a daily wage labourer to make ends meet.
• Despite these struggles, Rinku Singh continued to work hard and was eventually selected to play for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic cricket circuit. He made a mark in the 2017-18 season of the Ranji Trophy, where he was the leading run-scorer for Uttar Pradesh with 953 runs in 10 matches at an average of 63.53.
• However, his success in domestic cricket did not immediately translate to success in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rinku Singh was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2018, but he struggled to make an impact in his debut season, scoring only 120 runs in 10 matches.
• Despite these setbacks, Rinku Singh continued to work hard and improve his game. He was signed by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement player for the 2020 IPL season and has since been working on his game with the guidance of experienced players like MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina.
• Overall, Rinku Singh's struggles have shaped him into the determined and hardworking cricketer he is today. Despite facing financial difficulties and initial setbacks in his professional career, he has continued to persevere and improve his game, showing great potential for the future.

Domestic career

Rinku Singh represented Uttar Pradesh at the Under-16, Under-19 and Under-23 levels and Central Zone at the Under-19 level. He made his List A cricket debut for Uttar Pradesh in March 2014 at the age of 16 and top-scored with 83 in that match. He made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy on 5 November 2016.

He was the leading run-scorer for Uttar Pradesh in the group-stage of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy, with 803 runs in nine matches. He finished the tournament with 953 runs in ten matches.

Indian Premier League

In February 2017, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab team for the 2017 Indian Premier League. In January 2018, he was bought with the worth of 80 lakh by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 IPL auction.

Rinku was ruled out of the 2021 Indian Premier League due to a knee injury and he was later replaced by Gurkeerat Singh Mann. In February 2022, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament. In this year's tournament match, he got his first Man of the Match award with a cheque of one lakh for 42 runs in 23 balls with a strike-rate of 182.61 against Rajasthan Royals.

On 9 April 2023, Rinku achieved a record-breaking feat in an IPL match against Gujarat Titans, smashing 5 sixes in the final over to successfully chase down 29 runs - the highest-ever chase in the last over in the tournament's history.

International Career

In August 2023, he made his international debut in the first T20i against Ireland in at The Village. In November 2023, he played an unbeaten match-winning inning of 22 runs off 14 against Australia in the first T20i at Vishakhapatnam.

Suspension

On 30 May 2019, Singh was given a three-month suspension by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he took part in the Ramadan T20 Tournament in Abu Dhabi without seeking prior permission to play.

Career Stats

Facts

• Rinku Singh was born on October 12, 1997, in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.
• He started playing cricket at the under-16 level for Uttar Pradesh and worked his way up to the senior team.
• Rinku Singh is a left-handed batsman and occasional right-arm off-break bowler.
• He has scored over 3000 runs in first-class cricket and has a highest score of 208.
• Rinku Singh was the leading run-scorer for Uttar Pradesh in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season, with 953 runs in 10 matches at an average of 63.53.
• In 2018, Rinku Singh was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
• Rinku Singh had a disappointing debut season for KKR in the IPL, scoring only 120 runs in 10 matches.
• He was signed by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement player for the 2020 IPL season.
• Rinku Singh made his List A debut for India A in 2018 and scored an unbeaten 66 in his first match.
• In addition to cricket, Rinku Singh is also interested in bodybuilding and has shared pictures of his workouts on social media.