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How Did KKR's Top Retention Rinku Singh Fail To Deliver Under Pressure For UP In SMAT 2024?

Bhargav Dixit

Rinku Singh bats vs Andhra. [Source: @BCCIdomestic/X]Rinku Singh bats vs Andhra. [Source: @BCCIdomestic/X]

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On paper, Uttar Pradesh batter Rinku Singh scoring 277 runs across eight Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 innings at an average and strike rate of 69.25 and 152.19 respectively comes across as good enough. But is the left-handed batter’s recently concluded SMAT season a case of more than meets the eye?

Rinku, who mostly batted at No. 5 throughout the season, is also the second-highest run-scorer among middle-order batters. Despite the same, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he failed to fulfil expectations when his team needed a finisher of his calibre the most.

Rinku, who kick-started the tournament with a stroke-filled 70 (38) in a losing cause against Delhi, finished it with a lacklustre 10 (7) in another losing cause against the same opposition. Unbeaten on four occasions (including three successful run-chases), it leaves us with four innings where Rinku got out during the tournament.

Keeping aside his 45 (28) including six fours against Jharkhand, the only other time when he faltered was against Jammu & Kashmir. Coming in to bat at No. 5 inside the powerplay with UP scoring at less than six runs per over, Rinku put on display a laboured 24 (31) comprising a solitary boundary. Rinku, who batted for almost 10 overs, returning back to the pavilion with a strike rate of 77.41 in a domestic match is unacceptable.

Since the 27-year-old player is no longer just another player in the Indian domestic circuit, the parameters of judgement have shifted from his overall scores in reality to him single-handedly powering UP to victories.

Notwithstanding his 24 fours and 19 sixes throughout the season, why Rinku shouldn’t be satisfied with his performance is his inability to finish the innings in the above-mentioned encounter against J&K.

Rinku Singh Fails To Deliver Under Pressure

Even in the quarter-final against Delhi in Bengaluru last night, Rinku found himself in the middle just after the powerplay with UP needing over 11 runs per over to seal a 194-run chase. While it is true that Nitish Rana and Sameer Rizvi, two batters who bat before and after Rinku, flopped throughout the tournament, one expects Rinku to remain unshaken in such situations to make matches one-sided with his sheer presence.

No longer on the fringes of the Indian T20I squad, Rinku, as a permanent finisher in the national side, needs to have oppositions under his thumb especially in the SMAT. While it is unfair to expect him to win matches without much support from the other end all the time, Rinku not even staging a fight against J&K and Delhi was dispiriting for his reputation.

Rinku, as Kolkata Knight Riders’ topmost retained and most expensive player ahead of Indian Premier League 2025, had scored a mere 28 runs at an average and strike rate of 9.33 and 82.35 respectively across three innings in South Africa last month.

In what is a foolproof dip in form mainly from the interpretation of strike rate, one hopes for Rinku to bat like the game-changer that he’s known for in the shortest format. Considering his batting position, it would be hard for Rinku to achieve personal cricketing milestones frequently but anything less than going all guns blazing all the time would leave fans with a lot to be desired.