Mentioning any athlete's name in the same breath as that of the great Muhammad Ali is a big deal in itself, let alone comparing the mightiest boxer of all time to anyone. Former India seamer Sreesanth praised the emerging finisher-in-the-making, Rinku Singh, for his fearless stroke play and approach, claiming such traits of Rinku remind him of Muhammad Ali.
Ahead of the fifth and final T20I between India and Australia in Bengaluru on Sunday, Sreesanth hailed Rinku’s progress and shared his opinion on India’s heartbreaking World Cup final loss at the hands of the Aussies.
Following two very successful IPL campaigns with the Kolkata Knight Riders, Rinku emerged as one of the contenders to fill in the finisher’s role in India’s T20I side.
Impressing everyone since his international debut against Ireland in August this year, Rinku has scored 174 runs in five T20I innings thus far, averaging 87 and striking at over 197. His calm approach at the death reflects his ability to absorb pressure and deliver huge for the team.
"I love Rinku Singh's confidence. He has been doing it consistently for every team he plays, whether it's club cricket, whether it's team cricket, whether it's a franchise. He doesn't care, doesn't get carried away, but he speaks his heart out, and that's Muhammad Ali for me," Sreesanth told IANS.
Even in the four contested matches in this ongoing series, Rinku has hit 99 runs.
Meanwhile, on the back of stunning performances in the India jersey, Rinku is awarded with a place in the ODI team for the upcoming South Africa tour.
India leads the five-match series 3-1.
Sreesanth reflects on CWC final loss
Having won ten straight matches leading into the World Cup final against Australia, India was hot favourites to topple their long-time nemesis for their third world title. That, however, didn't go as planned, as Australia, on the back of some superb fielding and excellent bowling, put India’s back against the wall.
Batting first, India scored an under-par total of 240, with Australia chasing it with six wickets remaining.
"I'll be honest. Australia just outplayed us. Australia played the Australian way. Target, which should have been 280 to 290, Australian fielders held it to 240. It was Warner, Labuschagne, Smith who saved those 40 to 50 runs that changed the whole scenario of the game," Sreesanth added.
(With inputs from IANS)