Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh (born 12 October 1997) is an Indian cricketer who currently plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket. He is a right-handed off-spinner and a left-handed top order batsman. He is best known for his innings on April 9, 2023, when he struck five straight sixes in the final five balls of the game’s final over to assist his team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, overcome the Gujarat Titans.
Early life
Rinku Singh, 3rd among 5 siblings, was born in a poor family to Khanchandra Singh, who worked for a distributor of liquefied petroleum gas. His father’s employers gave him a two-room flat next to the Aligarh Stadium in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, where he spent his formative years.
| Name | Rinku Singh |
| Born | 12 October 1997 Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, |
| Parent’s | Khanchandra Singh, Vina Devi |
| Girlfriend | |
| Siblings | 5 |
| Occupation | Cricketer Player |
| Height | in feet & inches- 5’5” |
| Weight | 70kg approx. |
| Education | DPS Aligarh |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Active Year’s | 2014–present |
Domestic career
Singh competed for Central Zone at the Under-19 level while also representing Uttar Pradesh at the Under-16, Under-19, and Under-23 levels. At the age of 16, he made his List A cricket debut for Uttar Pradesh in March 2014 and led the team in scoring with 83. On November 5, 2016, he made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy. With 803 runs in nine games, he led Uttar Pradesh in run scoring during the group stage of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy. In ten matches, he scored 953 runs to win the championship.
Indian Premier League
He was acquired by the Kings XI Punjab club in February 2017 in preparation for the upcoming Indian Premier League. He was purchased by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 IPL auction in January for an estimated 80 lakh. Due to a knee injury, Rinku was forced to withdraw from the 2021 Indian Premier League and was subsequently replaced by Gurkeerat Singh Mann. He was purchased by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2022 Indian Premier League auction in February of that year.
He won his maiden Man of the Match trophy in this year’s tournament match against Rajasthan Royals, scoring 42 runs in 23 balls with a strike rate of 182.61. In an IPL match against Gujarat Titans, on April 9, 2023, Rinku broke a record by hitting five sixes in the final over to successfully chase down 29 runs, the highest-ever chase in the final over in the history of the competition.
