From mopping floors to hitting one of the best knocks in IPL history, how Rinku Singh transformed his life

On Sunday (April 9),  Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) by 3 wickets in what was the arguably the most thrilling and unexpected ending to an IPL match in the history of the tournament.

And the credit for this KKR victory goes to only one man, the underdog who had been warming the benches of the team dugout for the past few years, Rinku Singh.  

Chasing a 205-run target, KKR needed 29 runs to win the last over, and the 25-year-old left-hander smashed five consecutive sixes.

His 48-run knock off just 23 balls won a game KKR fans already give up on. Rinku Singh didn’t spare Yash Dayal in the last overs where he sent his full tosses over long on and over midwicket.

Rinku's brilliant knock wasn’t a blinder but a result of years of hardwork and perseverance.

A humble background

Rinku is a ninth standard dropout who was not very good in studies. And on top of that, his family’s low income added on to his mental pressure of contributing something from his side.

His father Khanchandra used to work as a LPG cylinder delivery man in Aligarh and had a meagre income of 6-7 thousand rupees per month. Rinku's brother Mukul worked at the local coaching centre and the other sibling Sonu worked as an autorickshaw driver.

The family lived in a two room house, in a godown of an Indian Oil company near the Maharani Ahilyabhai Holkar Stadium.

Rinku only had cricket with him. He played for the Uttar Pradesh Under-19 team. Fortunes knocked at his door when he won a motorcycle in a cricket tournament in New Delhi. He gave that bike to his father so that he could use it to deliver cylinders in Aligarh. That was in 2015-2016.

At one point, financial difficulties had pushed Rinku to even take up domestic cleaning work where he would be mopping and sweeping the floors. But that rarely lasted a month. One day he came back home and said to his mother, “I will not go again. Let me just try in cricket,” Indian Express quoted him as saying.

Those who helped Rinku

Credit for Rinku Singh’s success also goes to his longtime coach Masooduzzafar Amin, who runs a cricket academy in Aligarh’s Mahua Khera suburb.

Credit also goes to former KKR Head Coach Brendon McCullum who gave him ample opportunities in 2022 in the team. McCuullum had said that Rinku Singh would be the player whom the management would invest in the next few years as he has a lot of  potential in him.

Amin recalls Rinku’s hard journey that was full of financial setbacks and his bad lucks. Amin said that Rinku had once gone to Kanpur’s Green Park stadium for UPCA Under 16 trials but his registration details were missing as he hadn't filled up the form. “Luckily, his friend Zeeshan stepped in and helped him out,” Amin said. 

Amin also credited Zeeshan and one Arjun Singh Fakeera of his cricket academy for helping Rinku buy his cricket gears and getting him play for local club sides.

His IPL journey

As Rinku was already doing well in his domestic cricket, the big moment for him came in 2017, when he was bagged by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) at a price of Rs 10 lakh. But Rinku remained on the bench that season. 

In 2018, he was roped in by KKR at Rs 80 lakh but he played only four matches. Rinku would mostly be in the side as substitute player or for bringing in drinks.

The next three years were not great either as Rinku couldn’t deliver in the few matches he played. But the management kept on retaining him until 2022. And in 2022, Rinku's 23-ball 42 helped KKR win against Rajasthan Royals.

After hitting five sixes against Gujarat Titans, Rinku Singh said: "I come from a farmer’s family. My father struggled a lot. Every ball that I hit out of the ground was dedicated to the people who sacrificed so much for me,” TOI quoted Rinku Singh.

Even KKR’s co-owner Shah Rukh Khan had words of praises for Rinku Singh after the match.