Rinku Khanchand Singh (born 12 October 1997) is an Indian International

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. He is a left-handed

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batter and occasional

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bowler, who made his international debut for

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in August 2023 when he played against

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at The Village. Singh plays for

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

in domestic cricket and for

Kolkata Knight Riders The Kolkata Knight Riders, also known as KKR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and ...

in the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

(IPL). He got engaged with Indian politician and Parliamentarian, Priya Saroj on 8 June 2025.

Early life

Rinku Singh is the third of five siblings, and was born into a poor family. His father, Khanchandra Singh, worked in an LPG distribution company. During his early years, Singh lived in a two-room quarter near Aligarh Stadium in

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

. This accommodation was provided by his father's employers.

International career

On 18 August 2023, Singh made his international debut in the first

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

(T20I) against

at The Village. In the next game, he scored a quick 38 before being dismissed by the last ball of the innings. On 23 November 2023, he scored 22 runs off 14 deliveries against

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in the first T20I at

Vishakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of t ...

. In November 2023, Singh was named in India's squad for their 2023–24 tour of South Africa. On 12 December 2023, he scored his first half-century in T20I cricket with a score of 68*. He made his

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(ODI) debut against

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on 19 December 2023. He scored 17 runs and took the wicket of

Rassie van der Dussen Hendrik Erasmus "Rassie" van der Dussen (born 7 February 1989) is a South African professional cricketer who represents the South Africa national cricket team and plays for Gauteng in domestic cricket. In the 2018 ''South African Cricket Annua ...

. On 21 December 2023, he played a match-winning knock against South Africa in the 2nd One Day International (ODI) match. On 17 January, against Afghanistan, he and

Rohit Sharma Rohit Sharma (born 30 April 1987) is an Indian Cricket, international cricketer and the Captain (cricket), captain of the India national cricket team, national team in One Day International, ODIs. He is also a former captain in Tests and T20 ...

stitched a 190* run partnership, which is India's highest partnership in T20I and the highest partnership for the 5th wicket in the world. In May 2024, he was named as a reserve player in India’s squad for the

2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, co-hosted by Cricket West Indies and USA Cricket from 1 to 29 June 2024. It was the first major ICC tournament to include matches played in the United ...

tournament. In July 2024, Singh played in the Indian tour of Sri Lanka. This was not a great series for him, as he only managed 2 runs in 4 balls throughout the matches. However, in the final match, with 9 runs need in 12 balls for Sri Lanka, Singh bowled his first ever over resulting in 2 wickets and only 3 runs.

Domestic career

Uttar Pradesh

Singh represented

at the under-16, under-19 and under-23 levels; and also played for

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at the under-19 level. He made his

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debut for Uttar Pradesh in March 2014 at the age of 16 and top-scored with 83 in that match. He made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy on 5 November 2016. He was the leading run-scorer for Uttar Pradesh in the group-stage of the

2018–19 Ranji Trophy The 2018–19 Ranji Trophy was the 85th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament that took place in India between November 2018 and February 2019. Vidarbha were the defending champions. The final took place between ...

, with 803 runs in nine matches. He finished the tournament with 953 runs in ten matches.

Indian Premier League to 2020

In February 2017, Singh was bought at auction by Kings XI Punjab for the

2017 Indian Premier League The 2017 Indian Premier League season (also known as IPL 10 and branded as Vivo IPL 2017) was the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI ...

. In January 2018, he was bought for 80

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(KKR) in the 2018 IPL auction.

Suspension

On 30 May 2019, Singh was given a three-month suspension by the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

(BCCI) after he took part in the Ramadan T20 Tournament in

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without seeking prior permission to play.

Indian Premier League from 2021

Singh was due to play for KKR in the

2021 Indian Premier League The 2021 Indian Premier League (also known as IPL 14, or for sponsorship reasons, VIVO IPL 2021) was the fourteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricke ...

but he was ruled out by a knee injury and replaced by Gurkeerat Singh Mann. In February 2022, he was retained by KKR and played for them in IPL 2022. He earned his first Man of the Match award (and a cheque for one lakh) after he scored 42 runs in 23 balls against

Rajasthan Royals The Rajasthan Royals, also known as RR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight franchises, the team is owned by Manoj ...

. On 9 April 2023, Rinku achieved a record-breaking feat in an IPL match against

Gujarat Titans The Gujarat Titans, also known as GT, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The home ground of the team is Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The franchise is o ...

, scoring five sixes in the final over, bowled by Yash Dayal, to successfully chase down 29 runs – the highest-ever chase in the last over in the IPL tournament's history.

References

External links

* {{Subject bar , commons = , d = , q = , portal1 = Biography , portal2 = Cricket , portal3 = India 1997 births Living people Indian cricketers Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games gold medalists in cricket Cricketers at the 2022 Asian Games Cricketers from Uttar Pradesh India Twenty20 International cricketers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games Sportspeople from Aligarh Uttar Pradesh cricketers