Ahead Of Rinku Singh's Team India Debut; Here's A Quick Look At His IPL History

India vs Ireland T20 Series: IPL sensation Rinku Singh made headlines when his name was announced as part of the 15-man squad for the T20 series against Ireland starting on August 18.

BCCI announced the squad on July 31 announcing the return of Indian pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah after a gap of almost 11 months.

BCCI also shared a clip that shows Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma sharing their experience on getting their first Team India call-up

Rinku Singh's IPL 2023 Team KKR also shared a clip showcasing Rinku Singh wearing Team India's official team jersey.

Here's a look at Rinku Singh's best moments from IPL 2023 which brought him into the limelight.

Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) left-handed batter Rinku Singh played a miraculous knock against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, April 9. The 25-year-old broke MS Dhoni’s record for most runs in the last over while chasing the target.

With an incredible knock consisting of five back-to-back sixes, Singh bagged an unexpected win for KKR while chasing 205 against Gujarat Titans. From his skipper, teammates, and coaches, to other IPL teams, celebrities, cricketers, and even his franchise owner Shah Rukh Khan, everyone appreciated Rinku Singh’s match-winning performance.

Rinku Singh also got awarded the Player of the Match trophy along with a cheque of Rs 1 lakh for his impressive innings. Let’s take a look at this emerging player’s IPL history, previous IPL teams, his domestic stats, and more.

Rinku Singh’s IPL history dates back to February 2017 when he was brought into the tournament by Kings XI Punjab, now known as Punjab Kings. The team bought him at the IPL auction for Rs 10 lakh. However, within one year, he joined Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 80 lakh.

Rinku Singh’s first year with KKR wasn’t great as he only played 4 matches and scored a total of 29 runs throughout the IPL season. Nevertheless, the team saw potential in him and retained the batter for the upcoming editions while providing further training to him at the KKR academy.

In 2021, Singh was ruled out of IPL due to a knee injury and was later replaced by Gurkeerat Singh Mann in KKR’s 2021 squad. In the 2022 auction, Rinku Singh was again bought by KKR for Rs 55 lakh. The batter displayed a much better performance that year and got his first Man of the Match award with a cheque of Rs 1 lakh for scoring 42 runs in 23 balls with a strike rate of 182.61 against Rajasthan Royals. The Knight Riders also retained him in the 2023 players' auction

The batter from Uttar Pradesh has already broken his own record by scoring 48 runs in 21 balls with a strike rate of 155.17 against Gujarat Titans.

Rinku Singh’s IPL 2023 contract hasn’t seen much change from his IPL 2022 contract. This is because Rinku was retained by the team in the 2023 auction. Despite his impressive performance in 2022, his fees didn’t go up as he was retained by KKR for his 2022 price, which was Rs 55 lakh.

Before showcasing his batting skills in IPL, Rinku Singh represented Uttar Pradesh at the Under-16, Under-19, and Under-23 levels. He also played for Central Zone at the Under-19 level.

He made his List A cricket debut for Uttar Pradesh in March 2014 at the age of 16 and became the top-scorer in that match with 83 runs. Rinku Singh went on to play 50 matches in the format, where he scored a total of 1,749 runs with an average strike rate of 95.15.

Rinku Singh made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy in November 2016. Since then, he has played in 40 matches and has scored a total of 2,875 runs with an average of 59.89.

In the T20 format, Singh has played a total of 78 matches, wherein he has scored a total of 1,392 runs with a strike rate of 139.75.r