Rinku Singh's checklist: Telling dad to "rest" and cricket hostel for kids

Rinku Singh speaks in a matter of fact manner, just like his evening job under arc-lights -- smoke the bowlers to all parts of the park and dip the crowd in delirium.

After making the heads turn in the IPL 2023 with that five-sixes in an over for Kolkata Knight Riders, the 26-year-old Aligarh man is ready to rock in India Blues during upcoming tour of Ireland and the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

"Humara kaam sirf run banana hai. Match milega toh accha karenge. Main zyada sochta nahin hoon. Present mein jeeta hoon. Uparwala baas dekhle. Apne haath mein toh sirf mehnaat hai. Mehnat karte rahenge, dekhte hai kya hota hai (My job is to score runs. If I get an opportunity, I would try to do well.

 

"I don't over-think. I like to live in present. Hope Almighty keeps blessing me. Working hard is in my hands and I will do that and see what happens)," Rinku told PTI when asked about his reaction on entering the Indian team.

"Obviously my parents, brothers, my childhood coach (Masood Amini), everyone is happy. It was a collective dream," said Rinku, who along with his brothers and father Khanchand used to deliver LPG cylinders to various houses and hotels during his teenage years.

Three seasons of IPL and a few more in First-Class cricket has helped him take good care of his family and now all of them stay together in a house that the cricketer has built.

However, Rinku tells that his dad doesn't listen to his request of leading a relaxed life.

"I told Papa that you can relax now. But he is still hawking cylinders. He still loves that job. At one level, I understand his part also. If he starts relaxing at home, he will get bored instantly. If someone has worked all his life, it is difficult to tell him to stop unless he wants," said Rinku.

Rinku has come up the hard way, and experiencing the hardships has developed a certain sensitivity in him. It has also nourished an urge inside of him to give back something to the society as the game has already given him name and fame.

He is building a small hostel adjacent to the ground in Aligarh where he grew up learning the game.

The hostel will house at least 15 under-privileged boys, who will stay there to pursue the game under his coach Amini.

"I am getting a hostel constructed and the cricket ground is adjacent to it, so it would become easy for the kids. Someone, who is like an elder brother told me that let's plan something for these kids. Let's construct a hostel. He financed half and I decided to pay the other half," Rinku said.

Coming to cricketing matters, Rinku knows that life has changed for the better but he doesn't want to "hype up" things.

"Life has changed a lot as people now recognise it. I never believe in hyping things up as you never know when confidence turns into over-confidence. I want to keep things normal and play normal cricket," said the pocket-dynamo, and his words were evidence that he has his feet firmly rooted to ground.

In KKR, his skipper Nitish Rana has been like a big brother to him and coach Abhishek Nayar, a true-blue mentor.

"Nitish bhaiyya has supported me a lot. Abhishek sir has trained me at the KKR Academy as per the needs of T20 game. Before going to Ireland, I will be training for a few days at Noida and then under Abhishek sir at the KKR Academy in Ireland -- normal training before my first overseas tour," Rinku said.

So, has he ever felt that he needs to add the 360 degree variety to his game like Suryakumar Yadav?

"Look, every man has a different technique. My technique is different from Surya bhai's. I like playing in the straight arc and even all my coaches advise me that my strength is playing within the 'V'," he said.

What is his mantra in life, then? "Having faith in my hard work.