Rinku Singh might get an India A call-up at least after his exploits in India domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League as well, predicted former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop during the ongoing IPL 2023 season.
Rinku has been a revelation for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since IPL 2022 and has been serving them as the finisher of the team. He had last season shown his prowess as he almost single-handedly took KKR to win in a crunch match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), barely falling short.
But in the IPL 2023, he didn’t let anything slip against Gujarat Titans (GT) and smacked 6 sixes and one four in the last 7 balls he faced when 48 runs were needed in the last 18 balls and 28 runs were needed in the last 5 balls.
He hit Yash Dayal for five sixes consecutively and earned a great win for his team.
I Am Wondering When He Gets An Elevation: Ian Bishop On Rinku Singh
Even in KKR’s last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, when his team faced the daunting task of chasing down 228 runs, Rinku slammed 58 runs off 31 balls packed with four fours and four sixes, though KKR fell short in the end.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, West Indies legend Ian Bishop made a huge prediction for Rinku and lavished praise on him.
“I am wondering when he gets an elevation. I saw him last season, there is something about him besides the numbers that we have seen. You look at his first-class records, so I am hoping an India A call up is atleast around the corner for him”, he said.
Meanwhile, Tom Moody added, “I suppose it is a case of where India see him fitting into what format. What is it, where Rinku could be part of India’s white-ball campaign, whether be it 20-over cricket, 50-over or Test cricket. So that call up I don’t disagree it and he is backing it up with these big numbers from first class cricket.”
In 40 First Class matches, Rinku Singh has registered 2875 runs in 40 matches, at an average of 59.89 and 70.88 strike rate.