NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh has credited the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise for supporting him through some of the toughest moments of his career, especially when he suffered a serious knee injury in 2021.

The 27-year-old has been in and out of India’s playing eleven of late. His performances in the IPL till 2024 proved beneficial for him to maintain his place in the national side’s XI. However, a drop in showings resulted in Rinku warming the bench.

Speaking on how KKR backed him after his injury in 2021, Rinku, in a recent podcast with Raj Shamani, said, “KKR backed me at my worst. There was a time I was fearing the worst after my knee injury in 2021. I was batting against Railways, wearing new shoes and spikes. I tapped my bat for a quick double and instantly heard a crack—I just fell to the ground.”

The Aligarh-born admitted that the first thing he thought of, upon the injury, was the IPL, saying, “My first thought was about being ruled out. At that time, my contract was worth Rs 80 lakh, and in those circumstances, that money was important to me. An MRI revealed it was a meniscus tear.”

After undergoing surgery and spending nearly four months in rehab, Rinku’s performances in domestic cricket helped him get back into the mix at the IPL Auction.

“Even though I did well in the domestic circuit, I wasn’t sure if I would be picked again. That year, both KKR and LSG were bidding for me, and eventually, KKR bought me for Rs 55 lakh. That’s when I felt I had another chance to prove myself, ” he said.

Rinku’s moment in the IPL came in 2023, when he smashed five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal during a game between KKR and the Gujarat Titans. With his side needing 29 runs to win with one over in hand, the Uttar Pradesh cricketer went bonkers to achieve the unbelievable, thereby etching his name in history books.

“We were cruising thanks to Venky bhai (Venkatesh Iyer) and Rana bhai (Nitish Rana), but suddenly we lost wickets in a cluster, and I had to go in. Honestly, I was struggling. I had only scored 8 runs off 14 balls, and the ball just wasn’t connecting, ” he said.

“Umesh bhai (Umesh Yadav) gave me the strike on the first ball. I was in my own element then—I hit the first six, then the second, then the third. If you watch the highlights, you’ll see my body language wasn’t the best, but once I looked at the scoreboard and realised we needed 10 runs off 2 balls, I thought, ‘this is possible’, ” Rinku added.