Ahead of his side’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals, Rinku Singh, a batter for the Kolkata Knight Riders, said that his hard work at the team’s Academy during the offseason camp is paying off because it helped him enhance his game, particularly in death overs.
Ahead of his side’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals, Rinku Singh, a batter for the Kolkata Knight Riders, said that his hard work at the team’s Academy during the offseason camp is paying off because it helped him enhance his game, particularly in death overs. On Thursday, the IPL 2023 match between KKR and Rajasthan Royals will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
“My hard work at the KKR academy is paying off. We had an off-season camp there and I’ve worked hard and improved a lot. I just play normal shots, and practice harder for death overs as per my batting position at the Academy,”
said Rinku in a pre-match press conference.
“I just try to keep it simple and play normal shots. I think if I try something extra it will affect my batting. It is about just playing according to the merit of the ball and I just back my shots,”
added the batter.
Rinku has scored 337 runs in 11 matches with an average of 56.16 and a strike rate of 151.12. He has scored two half-centuries this season, with a high score of 58*.
Although he has consistently performed well for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket, Rinku’s five consecutive sixes off Gujarat Titans pacer Yash Dayal in the final over to chase down 205 pushed him to cricket stardom, just like the IPL has done for many other cricketers over the years.
He is the only middle-order batter among all openers and top-order batters who hold the top 15 positions in the batting charts. He also revealed the advice he got from the “world’s best finisher” MS Dhoni about dealing with pressure while batting.
“He is the world’s best finisher. I just asked ‘Bhaiya’ what else I could do while I’m going to bat. He just told me don’t think much, wait for the ball,”
said Rinku.
On his calm composure at the crease during tense, troublesome situations as a middle-order batter,
“For the spot I am batting in, you have to be calm-headed, it’s about going with a clear mind and backing yourself. You have to stay calm. People were screaming ‘Rinku, Rinku’, but my focus was only on the last ball (against Punjab Kings on Monday).
In terms of role models, Rinku claimed that he does not have any, but considers his fellow UP player and veteran Suresh Raina as his idol, who just like Rinku was an expert at executing successful run-chases and managing innings as a middle-order hitter.
“I do not follow anyone as such. I usually bat at No. 5, 6, or 7. I bat at similar positions in UP. Suresh Raina has been my idol,”
he concluded.
In the point standings heading into the match against RR, KKR sits in sixth place with five victories and six defeats. They have a total of 10 points. On the other hand, RR’s campaign has taken a turn to bad after some recent losses. They have five wins and six losses as well, which translates to a total of 10 points.
With a victory, these teams might overtake Mumbai Indians, who are presently in third place in the standings with 12 points after six victories and five losses.
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, N Jagadeesan, Lockie Ferguson, Kulwant Khejroliya, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Johnson Charles, David Wiese, Aarya Desai, Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldip Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Adam Zampa, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Akash Vasisht, KC Cariappa, KM Asif, Kuldeep Sen, Donavon Ferreira, Abdul Basith, Kunal Singh Rathore.