Rinku Singh credits 'special IPL innings' for selection into India's squad for 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 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), 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.

🗣️ 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐏𝐋

Revisiting his iconic 5⃣ sixes off 5⃣ balls 💥
The joy of Asian Games call-up 👏
Feeling of being called 'Lord' 😃

WATCH @rinkusingh235 talk about it all 🎥🔽 - By @jigsactin | #Deodhartrophy https://t.co/Tx8P37sqqC pic.twitter.com/qU8dyitoTI

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) July 30, 2023

However, the 25-year-old has made the cut for the Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled from 23 September to 8 October. “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.” Read | Rinku reveals Dhoni's advice which led to five consecutive sixes vs GT 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.