Rinku Singh was asked ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup what his tournament wishlist was. His reply: “to hit the winning runs.” And indeed, that’s what he did in the final against Pakistan, in what was remarkably the only ball he faced all tournament.
In India’s well-rounded line-up that has batters well-equipped to take down spinners, Rinku is the perfect player for brief appearances late in the innings to maximise impact. Since January 2024, he has played 10 or more balls in only 10 of his 25 T20I outings. In that India XI, Rinku’s job is simple: to finish the innings.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), though, need more than just 10-ball bursts from him. Rinku is the only current India T20I batter in the squad, and it is reasonable to expect him to produce more runs – and more influence – across phases.
KKR offered him a chance to do that this season. He started his first four games at No. 5, walking in at 79 for 3, 105 for 3, 74 for 3 and 145 for 3. But he was tied down by Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmed in Chennai, managed to deal only in singles and dots against Mohammed Shami and Avesh Khan against Lucknow Super Giants and couldn’t get boundaries away at enough frequency against Mumbai Indians where his unbeaten 33 had just four fours and came at a strike rate of 157.14 on an evening where 220 played 224.
The reason Rinku has not looked close to his menacing best in the middle overs comes down largely to match-ups and entry points. Since IPL 2023, Rinku has struck at 167 against pace bowling, with a boundary percentage close to 70%. But against spin, that strike rate drops to 122. In that same period, his strike rate when he goes out to bat in the last five overs is a staggering 226. However, when he goes to bat in the first half of the innings the strike rate drops to 135 and is only marginally higher at 139 when he goes to bat from overs 11 to 15.
This season, his first four games had varied entry points from overs six to 15, and combined with more exposure to spin, he has failed to influence games the way someone of his experience should at this stage of his career. The result is that across IPL 2024, 2025 and 2026 so far, he has scored fewer runs than the 474 runs he scored during his breakout IPL 2023 season. He has also managed only five scores of over 30 and no fifties since IPL 2024.
That is where the gap between expectation and output begins to widen and in KKR’s last outing against Gujarat Titans (GT), Anukul Roy and Rovman Powell were promoted ahead of Rinku to offer him an entry point as close to his ideal spot, late in the innings. He walked in after 14.5 overs, and that he fell for a two-ball one to Kagiso Rabada is incidental; the more telling point was that KKR appear to be giving up on seeing Rinku as anything more than a late-overs batter.
And for a player at this stage of his career after having played more than seven seasons of the IPL, KKR will expect a lot more than that. Rinku is an India regular, a T20 World Cup winner, and the vice-captain of this KKR side. He can no longer rely on performing only when match-ups and entry points suit him. He needs to be effective, if not always dominant, irrespective of who is on the other side.
To achieve that, Rinku does not have to abandon what makes him effective, but has to expand it. Improving against spin – not just to survive, but to score – and becoming more adept at building an innings on his own terms would be the next step in his development. In Sunday’s afternoon game against Rajasthan Royals, he will have an opportunity to apply that right away. Against Ravi Bishnoi lies a tantalising match-up of 29 runs in 17 balls but also two dismissals. Against Ravindra Jadeja, too, Rinku has strong numbers: five sixes in 34 balls for 51 runs and just one dismissal.
All said, there is also a human context that cannot be ignored. Rinku lost his father two months ago, and personal grief could easily affect a player’s performance on the field. Even if Rinku miraculously changes his season Sunday onwards, it might be too late to make a dent on KKR’s very low qualification chances. However, the silver lining will be that KKR will get some clarity with 2027 and beyond in mind.
