KKR batsman Rinku Singh opens up on his IPL journey 'KKR looked after me' — Rinku Singh credits IPL franchise for aiding him through injury
KKR batsman Rinku Singh has always been a fan favourite. While some genuinely saw potential in him, some called him, 'Lord Rinku Singh' just for fun. However, the IPL of 2022 turned fortunes for Rinku Singh when he actually got enough opportunities to showcase his full potential. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, he shed light on his IPL journey and how things changed for him in the recent season.
The story of rags to riches is something that can be well associated with him. During the current season of IPL, his struggle story surfaced all over the internet. In the 2018 mega auction, Rinku made his IPL debut by being selected by KKR for the price of 80 lakh. He only participated in four games that year and scored a pitiful 29 runs while playing a lower-middle order position. The little batter participated in six additional games over the following two seasons, although those infrequent appearances didn't showcase his full ability.
It wasn’t easy to stay away from the game for six to seven months: Rinku Singh
Adding to his miserable situation, a knee injury forced him out of the first half of 2021 IPL and subsequently, the second half too. In the 2022 mega auctions, KKR management backed up Rinku Singh by buying him again, this time for ₹55 lakh.
Reflecting on all of this during the interview when asked about not getting enough opportunities prior to 2022 and then bringing a different and more confident side this year, he said, "Yes, you can say that. I’ve been with KKR for five seasons now. I had a few opportunities before, but I couldn’t prove myself. I worked quite hard leading up to IPL 2022, scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket. It has been a good season for me after recovering from a knee injury."
"It took me a long time to recover. It was a very challenging phase. Thankfully, KKR stood by me at the time. I called up Abhishek [Nayar] sir immediately after the injury. He told me to come to Mumbai where I underwent an MRI scan. The injury was serious as I was diagnosed with a herniated disc. KKR looked after me during that phase and it’s because of them that I’ve managed to come back strong."
He further added, "I didn’t try to do anything extra. My rehab process went well, which facilitated a quick recovery. Psychological pain hurts more than physical pain when you sustain a major injury. It wasn’t easy to stay away from the game for six to seven months after having a good run in domestic cricket. I worked really hard in rehab, which proved fruitful in the domestic tournaments and the IPL."
Rinku stood out in a dismal season for the Knights, as they came in 7th place in the league rankings. He made 174 runs in seven games at an average of 34.80 and a strike rate of 148.72. He aspires to elevate his game and establish himself as a regular in the KKR playing XI going forward.