From once looking at sweeping floors and doing domestic chores to help his family in their financial struggles, Rinku Singh has scripted his name in IPL’s history books with a thundering knock of a lifetime. With Kolkata Knight Riders likely to lose, needing 29 runs in the last over, Rinku Singh stunned defending IPL champions with five consecutive sixes in the most sensational T20 over ever witnessed. Rinku Singh isn’t just a standout performer for KKR now, but also has a standout story of rising to cricketing success against the odds.
The cricketing story of Rinku Singh starts from an LPG cylinder godown in Uttar Pradesh town Aligarh. Rinku was brought up in a two-room quarter near the Aligarh stadium. It was provided by his father's employer, who used to work a low-paying job in an LPG cylinder distribution company and used to earn a meagre sum. Rinku grew up with 4 siblings in a working class family where he once had to consider working as a sweeper to help the family meet ends. While his father delivered gas cylinders, one of his brothers drove an autorickshaw.
Rinku Singh dropped out of school in class 9 and started on his dream to become a cricketer and pull his family out of poverty. From playing cricket in an LPG cylinder godown, he learnt the technical side of the game under longtime coach Masood-uz-Zafar who identified his talent and ability to play powerful strokes. He was helped by many in his journey, one of whom was Mahua Khera academy benefactor Arjun Singh Fakeera who took care of the money side of Rinku’s training to be a cricketer.
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Rinku broke into to the U-16, U-19 and U-23 before making his Ranji Trophy debut in 2016. His scoring exploits in the 2018-19 Ranji season made Kolkata Knight Riders back him. He was bought by KKR in IPL 2018 auction for Rs 80 lakh. However, hardships were not over for Rinku Singh who was dealt a massive blow by a knee injury.
However, Rinku Singh still had KKR's backing who bought him in the 2022 auction. After three underwhelming and difficult seasons, he finally cemented himself as an IPL player in 2022 season, also winning a Man of the Match award against Rajasthan Royals. Fast forward to another year, he smashed Gujarat Titans' Yash Dayal for five sixes in the most unforgettable IPL over of all time.
