In Reverence Of Rinku: The Singh Who’s A King

image-lpyzy8nhRinku Singh's rise in T20Is has been exponential [AP]

For as long as 2023 will be remembered for being yet another exasperating year in the wide-reaching journey of cricket, it'll also be remembered for being the year of one of the game's growing names, Rinku Singh. 

From being the batsman who put the Gujarat Titans, a giant killer of teams in the IPL, to the sword during his five sixes showdown in this edition to playing useful knocks in the 2023 Asian Games at Huangzhou, a first for him as also for the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and company, Rinku Singh made 2023 his own. 

His unbeaten 37 off just 15 deliveries against Nepal upped the tempo of India's run-making in a crucial game. 

It's not only about his batting prowess on turfs that India's critics describe as being batsman-friendly here in the subcontinent; rather, the approach with which Rinku Singh dominated bowlers deserves a standout mention. 

Sadly, those bashers can't have or may not have the wisdom to appreciate a basic ground reality: that Rinku Singh's bat oozed fire even in Ireland, where prior to the 2023 tour of India, the left-hander hadn't even once travelled. 

A case in point is his batting belligerence against the bowling troika of Mark Adair, Josh Little and Barry McCarthy, against whom he fired a 21-ball-38 in the 2nd T20I at The Village. Ireland came close in that game, but Rinku's heroics down the order had given the team's top scorers- Gaikwad and Samson, good company. 

Later this year, the batsman played a blinder in the recent white ball series against the same opponent that inflicted perhaps the biggest wound on 2023 ODI World Cup hosts India. It took Rinku just nine odd deliveries to score 31 unbeaten runs. 

The tempo at which he scores those runs and the timeliness of it all makes the Kolkata Knight Riders charm a true asset for his national cricket team. The kind of bloke you'd dread losing in the course of an injury or some absence. 

For runs and vital ones from down the order are seldom absent from Rinku Singh's wide-reaching range. The regions starting from mid-off to deep mid-wicket are often an area he targets. 

image-lpz007lfRinku Singh was impressive in AUS home series [AP]

But then, so is the case with the long-on, the zone where Rinku's gun barrel hits it for straight sixes. 

Few have moved everyone, whether Hayden Hayden to Harsha Bhogle, Sir Sunny Gavaskar to Graeme Swann, with such ease and batting incredulity as Singh. 

This Singh is really a king, and he doesn't emote much nor soak in the hype that his lavish strokes afford him. 

For he's a simpleton. And despite going a tad unnoticed- for instance, he scored 180 T20I runs this year, averaging 60 with the bat in 2023- Rinku doesn't mind only being gloated over for his IPL brilliance when the truth is he's every bit just as effective while wearing the Indian jersey.  

It's a jersey he'll wear proudly but never arrogantly in the soon-to-begin white ball series against the Proteas, where Rinku will have his task cut out. 

The Kingsmead-bound opening T20I, with two more to come, shall offer a perfect platform for Rinku Singh to consolidate his position as this explosive batsman down the lower order in the game's briefest format. 

But then it is here where even a modicum of time spent (well) at the wicket could lead to a match-winning effort. Certainly, the thing that Rinku, the destroyer of GT, Team Australia and an unsuspecting Ireland, will bear in mind for the Aiden Markram-led Proteas side. 

What's further interesting is that owing to his rich vein of form, the 26-year-old Aligarh-born shall also find a golden opportunity in the one-dayers that follow the T20 leg of the contests against the Proteas. 

At a time when Indian cricket is undoubtedly moving towards newer names and fleeing those who've played their significant parts to speed up the process of transformation, Rinku Singh can play the part of a constant. An unwavering constant whose job is to contribute and, in the process, stand out as only he can. 

For he's brave and not too complicated in the headspace, maybe that's where a lot of cricket actually happens for batsmen, not necessarily on the 22 yards. Isn't it? 

Go on, Rinku, keep scoring and never let disappointments, if any, get to your head. And ditto for success.