IPL 2018: Suresh Raina's advice will help me perform well says Rinku Singh

Rinku Singh grabbed a lot of eyeballs when he was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) four times his base price at 80 lakhs. Rinku, who hails from a poor family in Aligarh, invited a fierce bidding war between KKR and the Mumbai Indians(MI). Ahead of this IPL season, Rinku is hoping to follow the advice of his idol Suresh Raina and wants to play freely.

Rinku was watching the IPL auction from his small two-room house in an LPG company’s godown. Rinku’s father works as a delivery man there. Furthermore, he received a text from Raina after he was sold to KKR.

It read ‘bindaas khelna, jyada pressure mat lena’, (play freely without taking any pressure). “It was special for me’, the left-hander told PTI in an interview at the team hotel. “I never thought I will get Rs 80 lakh, I thought I would get about Rs 30-35 lakh,” he further added.

Rinku was also gifted a bat and pair of gloves by Raina

Rinku also received a pair of gloves and bat gifted by Suresh Raina during their first interaction on the sidelines of his domestic debut. He also shared some sweet moments from his first encounter with the left-hander. Rinku further mentioned that Raina was his idol and has followed him keenly.

“He made a surprise visit to my room which I was sharing with Ali Murtaza. I was awe-struck and could hardly utter anything,” he said. “There’s a lot to learn from IPL. I’ve learned a lot of shots, and I always followed Raina bhai. He’s my idol. It was a dream moment to meet him ahead of my debut. Before I could speak about myself, my room partner told him that I consider him as his idol. I told him I am also a left-handed batsman. He soon gifted me the bat and gloves,” the lefty further elaborated.

“Soon we bonded well, spoke a lot about the game. I asked him about IPL, the batting, and fielding. I love his inside-out shot, that’s my favourite,” he added about their first meet. Rinku also plans to shift his house from the LPG godown. “We will soon move to a brand new house, finishing touches are being given now. It will be ready within two months,” the 20-year-old said.

A terrific Ranji season last year

In nine Ranji Trophy games last year, Rinku Singh has scored 692 runs with an average of 49. Although Kings XI Punjab hired him, he ended up warming the bench the entire season. His moment of reckoning came during a trial for Mumbai Indians. “I scored 91 runs in 31 balls. Maybe I came under the notice after that,” he recalls citing about the bidding war between MI and KKR. Rinku has bonded well with his teammates and says he is now looking forward to making debut for KKR.

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