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Rinku Singh (Image Credit : BCCI/IPL)
Rinku Singh has made a name for himself in the ongoing Indian T20 League 2022 for Kolkata. Singh won his first Player of the Game award of his career when he scored an unbeaten 42 off 23 balls against Rajasthan early in the tournament. In the recent game against Lucknow, Rinku played a blinder of 40 in 15 balls to almost snatch victory for his team from the jaw of defeat. However, his wicket in the final over meant that Kolkata lost the match by two runs. Meanwhile, Singh recently opened up on his career struggles.
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Singh, who was bought by Kolkata in 2018, said that he got very little opportunities at the start of his career. In the limited opportunities he got, he failed to impress. However, Kolkata showed faith in the youngster and stuck with him. “Those five years were really tough for me. After the first year, when I was picked for KKR and I got a chance to play, I couldn’t perform well. Still, KKR trusted me a lot and they retained me for the next couple of seasons,” he said in a video shared by the franchise on YouTube.
The Uttar Pradesh player also revealed that he picked up an injury during the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021 and was told that he won't be able to play for next 6-7 months. Since he is the only bread earner of his family, that was a massive setback. “I trained hard the way my body language is. The team never thought I was down. Last year was quite tough for me as I got a knee injury during the Vijay Hazare Trophy while running a double. The moment I fell, I thought of the IPL. They told me I needed an operation and would require 6-7 months to recover,” he stated.
“I wasn’t happy staying away from cricket for so long. My father didn’t eat for 2-3 days. I told him it was just an injury and it’s part of cricket. I’m the sole breadwinner of my life and when such things happen, it is bound to be worrisome. I was a bit sad, but I knew I would recover quickly as I had a lot of self-belief,” he further added.