Rinku Singh

Ever since the beginning of the Indian Premier League in 2008, the competition has witnessed rags-to-riches stories almost every year. One of those highly inspiring stories has been that of Rinku Singh who is a left-handed batter. Hailing from Aligarh, Rinku started his cricketing career by representing Uttar Pradesh at the age-group level. Considering his performances at that level, he was fast-tracked to the senior level.

In March 2014, Rinku made his List A debut for Uttar Pradesh and later that month, he would go on to make his T20 debut. A couple of years later, in 2016, he made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh against Punjab during the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy season. In 2017, the Punjab franchise picked him up ahead of the Indian Premier League season. However, he was released by the franchise after just one season. In the following year, the Kolkata franchise showed faith in him and acquired his services for the 2018 season. Even though the first season didn’t turn out to be great, his potential was evident and he was retained for the 2019 edition.

He stitched the loopholes in his batting with mentor Abhishek Nayar at the Kolkata academy during the off-season. The results were visible in his 2018-19 Ranji Trophy outing for Uttar Pradesh, where he ended up being the third-highest run-getter, scoring 953 runs in 13 innings, including four centuries. Before the 2022 mini-auction, the Kolkata franchise retained him for the 2023 Indian Premier League season. The middle-order batter can also roll his arm over with his off-spin. Moreover, he is swift across the field and is a safe catcher. His skill set makes him one of the most exciting players.