Rinku Singh credits IPL performance for Asian Games selection

Uttar Pradesh batter Rinku Singh said he was left emotional when he received his maiden India call up for the Asian Games

New Delhi: Crediting the “special IPL innings” for changing his life, Uttar Pradesh batter Rinku Singh said he was left emotional when he received his maiden India call up for the Asian Games.

Despite a stellar IPL campaign with the Kolkata Knight Riders, Rinku was not included in the squad for the upcoming five-match T20s series against West Indies. He finished as the top run-getter for KKR with 474 runs at an average of 59.25 and 149-plus strike rate.

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However, the 25-year-old has made the cut for the Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled from September 23 to October 8.

“When I saw my name I was very emotional, I have been working for this and now I have got it,” Rinku Singh said in a video posted by BCCI.

“Everyone at home wanted me to play for India and when I got selected everyone danced. Everyone was happy. I am excited to play for India, if given a chance I’d like to do well and our team will win and bring home the gold.” Rinku made headlines after hitting fives sixes in a row against Gujarat Titans in the IPL earlier this year and since then the middle-order batter’s life has changed.

KKR needed 28 off 5 deliveries as Rinku clobbered five successive sixes to seal a memorable win.

“After those five sixes life changed a lot. People knew me at the time but I was not that popular after that a lot of people came to know about me,” Rinku said.