Xtra Time Web Desk: Rinku Singh displayed nerves of steel as he smashed Sean Abott for a six to take India home in the first T20I against Australia at Vizag on Thursday, November 23. The cricketer from Aligarh in UP is being hailed as the next finisher after MS Dhoni. But it is too premature to compare Rinku with the legend called Dhoni. Yes, India were in a situation where they could have lost the match but Rinku showed tremendous temperament as he despatched the ball over the long on boundary for a six off the no ball bowled by Abbott.
There was a beautiful moment after the match when Rinku was embraced by Abhishek Nayar, who is also the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders. Former KKR captain Dinesh Karthik revealed a heartwarming story behind the embrace and the bond between the duo.
According to Karthik, the bond between Rinku and Nayar started way back in 2018 when the Uttar Pradesh cricketer first joined KKR. It was during the time when Karthik was also with the Kolkata franchise. Nayar always saw the potential in Rinku, and kept telling Karthik, it was only a matter of time before he did something really special. Coming from a small town in Aligarh, all Rinku needed was to think big , and Karthik feels that shift in mindset was what Nayar worked with Rinku majorly about apart from fine-tuning his death hitting skills.
Even during the time, when Rinku had an ACL injury, Nayar convinced KKR CEO Venky Mysore who gracefully accepted Rinku to be part of the team and made him travel and stay with the franchise. Rinku stayed in Nayar’s house post IPL for many months for Rehab and started working on his batting and had a stellar domestic season and then eventually did what Nayar and KKR always thought he could play the role of a finisher.
This is what Dinesh Karthik wrote on ‘X’ about the heartwarming moment between Rinku and Nayar.