Rinku Singh on his struggles while recovering from knee injury: My father didn’t eat for 2-3 days
India Today
Rinku Singh was exceptional for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). He has conjured praise from the cricket fraternity and KKR head coach Brendon McCullum.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) batter Rinku Singh recalled the times when lack of opportunities and concerns surrounding injuries didn’t make life easy for him. The left-hander said that the last five years of his career have been challenging, but he didn’t lose self-belief during the tumultuous times.
Back in 2018, the Knight Riders picked up Rinku Singh in the mega auction, but the Young Turk couldn’t live up to expectations. Despite being a part of the KKR for four seasons, he didn’t get a lot of chances to play. Moreover, he was ruled out of the first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 due to a knee injury.
“Those 5 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,” Singh said on a video uploaded on KKR's official Facebook page.
“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.
“I wasn’t happy staying away from cricket for so long. My father didn’t eat for 2-3 days. I told him its’ 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,” he stated.
“I was a bit sad, but I knew I would recover quickly as I had a lot of self-belief,” the southpaw added.
In the 2022 IPL, Singh performed exceptionally as he scored 174 runs from seven matches at an average of 34.80 and a strike rate of 148.71. On Wednesday, Rinku scored a 15-ball 40, but despite his valiant effort, KKR lost by 2 runs against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Singh also conjured praise from KKR head coach, Brendon McCullum, after his knock on Wednesday night.
