Having narrowly missed out on making it to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup, Rinku Singh will travel with the team to the competition as a reserve player.
The KKR left-hander has not lived up to his billing in the IPL this year, but it is not his fault.
With the KKR top and middle order batters firing on all cylinders, Rinku has ended up facing just 113 balls in the 13 games he has played in the league stages of IPL 2024, scoring 168 runs with a best of 26, which was one major factor in his exclusion for the World Cup.
In contrast, Rinku enjoyed a dream season with the bat for KKR last year, smashing 474 runs at a strike rate of 149 with four fifties.
The left-hander, who made his T20 International debut last year against Ireland, has scored 356 runs in 15 T20Is at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.
Rinku doesn't believe he is going through a bad phase.
'Time kharab uska hota hai jiske haath pair nahi hote, hamare toh hain. Hamara time kharab nahi hai (I can say someone who does not have his limbs that person is going through a bad time. I am fine, I am not going through a bad time),' Rinku says in a video posted on the IPL Web site.
Rinku became a huge hit after smashing five successive sixes against Gujarat Titans' pacer Yash Dayal in the final over to guide KKR to victory in a tense run chase.
'I used to be wondering all the time if I would get to play further. I used to tell myself that I would do well in the next game and I should keep working hard. I kept working hard.
'My life changed after the five sixes. I started getting ads. People started to recognise me. Now I cannot go out alone. It feels good when hoardings of my name are there, when people scream my name. I feel that I have done something in my life.'
Rinku wants India to triumph at the T20 World Cup next month so he can hold the coveted trophy.
'Since I have played cricket, I have won some trophies at junior level. But not at the senior level. I am going to the World Cup. I want to hold the World Cup trophy, I hope we win. My dream is to win a big trophy for my country and lift it in my hands,' Rinku says.
On his role as the finisher for KKR in the IPL, he says, 'I have been playing at this position for long, I know what to do. The more you keep yourself calm, the more you just react to the ball, it will be easier.'
