Rinku Singh: Know about the Aligarh man who is an overnight IPL sensation
Ahmedabad/IBNS: After playing a second fiddle to Shardul Thakur against mighty Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday, left-handed batter Rinku Singh pulled off a miraculous win for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Gujarat Titans last night.
After Rashid Khan's hattrick of wickets, KKR were in deep trouble in the run-chase against GT who had 29 runs in the last over to defend.
When most people had lost hope in KKR, Rinku slammed five consecutive sixes in the last over to snatch the win from GT's grip.
Amid all the congratulatory messages, people on the internet are keen to know more about Rinku, who was barely noticed in IPL even in the last season.
Hailing from a humble background, Rinku, who used to live in a small two-room quarters, was bought by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan co-owned KKR for only Rs. 80 lakhs in 2018.
Rinku along with five other brothers used to help his father who was a "hawker".
"My father is a hawker so often we used to help him in his work... All five of us brothers have helped him. We used to carry two cylinders on a bike and deliver them to hotels and houses," said Rinku in an old interview.
While one of his brothers rides an autorickshaw and another works in a coaching centre, Rinku's dream has always remained cricket.
After getting selected in IPL, Rinku said his family was quite happy as he could fulfill certain needs.
He said, "My family was really really happy... I had never seen so much money before. So the family was quite happy. Whatever our difficulties- big or small- soon disappeared."
Rinku, who represented Uttar Pradesh in the domestic cricket, was roped in by Kings XI Punjab in 2017 a year before KKR signed him.
The 22-year-old southpaw first got noticed in the IPL in 2022 after his 23-ball 42 earned him his first Player of the Match award in the tournament.
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