EXPLAINED: Is Rinku Singh the answer to India's search for a designated 'finisher' in white-ball cricket?

The group stages of IPL 2023 are over, and Kolkata Knight Riders, alongside five other teams, have been knocked out of the tournament. While all eyes will now be on the playoffs, revisiting some of the top moments and emerging performances would be as good an option as any. Several players hit centuries; some even back-to-back, players who didn’t leave an equal impact on the fans, their team performances and their chances of breaking into the Indian team.

The first name that comes to mind is KKR’s Rinku Singh. The young left-handed batter from Aligarh made this tournament his own, with performances that are sure to call for a selection meeting inside the BCCI office sooner. Termed the ‘finisher’ by millions of fans, Rinku helped his team win or at least come close to most of the chases, which, at one stage, looked nearly impossible to achieve.

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If this calls for anything other than just praise, it is a spot in the playing XI in India’s white-ball team. With Hardik Pandya ageing like a fine wine regarding his role and performances lately, his journey from being a designated ‘finisher’ to a proper batter is one to take inspiration from. So is the case with Rinku - from being a Nobody in the KKR team for a few years to becoming the most-talked-about batter this summer, Rinku has come a long way too.

Going by the array of shots he has on display, in addition to having an unbelievable stomach for success, Rinku is not far from realising his dream of playing for the country.

Rinku’s IPL 2023 in numbers 

After a headline-making inning against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022, where he scored 40 off 15 balls, hitting four sixes and two fours, and almost pulling off one of the best run-chases in the season, Rinku hit the ground running this time in IPL 2023.

Following two superb outings in the opening two games against CSK and DC, Rinku’s moment came against Gujarat Titans – where, in the final over, when his team needed 29 runs, he smashed left-arm seamer Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes – and did the unthinkable.

Just when the cricketing world was busy gasping about what just happened, Rinku, a few games later, pulled off a win in another run-chase – this time against Punjab Kings at home. Hitting Arshdeep for a last-ball four - the bowler, who by then had earned a reputation of being the best death bowler, further cemented Rinku's legacy as the ‘finisher to be’ in times to come.

His last of the master-class run-chases came during Kolkata's final game against Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens, wherein – for the nth time this season, when the chips were down, and he was around, Rinku kept KKR in the game. Needing nearly 40 runs off the last two overs, the Kolkata dugout looked relaxed – knowing who was dealing with the situation.

Rinku slammed Naveen-ul-Haq and Yash Thakur for fours and sixes and brought his team’s total closer to the target, only to fall shy of just one run.

In IPL 2023, Rinku Singh scored a whopping 474 runs from 14 matches – the most by a batter coming in at number five or below. While he averaged around 59.25, the left-handed Rinku was smashing at a strike rate of almost 150. Moreover, each of his four fifties this season came while chasing, and it’s fair to say, every time the bowling team was under pressure.

Looking at his rise, KKR must get credited for backing him since getting him on board in 2018.

How can Rinku be used as a finisher in India's white-ball teams?

With the majority of the sure-shot batters in the white-ball team around 33 years old (Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja), it’s high time the board handpick some young guns looking at the future; and who better to go ahead with than Rinku Singh as the finisher in the team. Rinku delivering under pressure in almost all games this season reflects his temperament and ability to take down an attack of the highest order.

India is scheduled to travel to the Caribbean and then Ireland for ODIs and T20Is later during the monsoon, providing Rinku with a chance to showcase his skill on the international level.

Also, considering India might choose to rest some of the big names in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup and also keeping an eye on next year’s T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA, grooming Rinku as the finisher is the way to go ahead with.

Even former players and coaches like Harbhajan Singh and Ravi Shastri have voiced the same.

It’s only a matter of time before the ambitious Rinku Singh takes on the big stage, playing for India in all formats.

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