EXCLUSIVE: Rinku Singh’s Fairytale Rise Deserves A Movie, Feels KKR Teammate Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer, India's all-rounder, believes a film might be created on Rinku Singh's career, as the Kolkata Knight Riders player has had a Cinderella journey to the top level. Rinku is now with the Indian side in Ireland for the three-match T20I series, which begins on Friday.

Rinku and Iyer share the same dressing room at KKR in the Indian Premier League and have witnessed each other up close.

Rinku, who joined KKR in 2018, made his mark in the 2022 season when he hit a 15-ball 40 against Lucknow Super Giants.

The Uttar Pradesh hero began the 2023 season where he left off in the previous season, with five sixes in the final over against Gujarat Titans during a 200-run chase earning him all the attention.

A few knocks later in the competition propelled him into national contention.

"Makes no less than a fairytale," Iyer said about Rinku in an exclusive interview with India.com. "It's a perfect story." You could practically make a movie out of it. But I believe he deserves everything that comes his way," he continued.

The southpaw's meteoric rise was not without incident. He struggled with poverty and lacked family support for the sport he adores. Rinku's knocks remained ignored at first after breaking into professional cricket.

Consistent performances for his state team, though, earned him an IPL deal with Punjab Kings in 2017. Rinku joined the two-time champions a year later, but he didn't receive many chances, playing only 10 games in his first three years.

From the 2022 season, the KKR management began deploying him as a finisher in the bottom middle order, and the 23-year-old did not disappoint.

Rinku, according to Iyer, deserves every accolade. "He deserves every accolade for what he has accomplished, and I have never met a more hardworking individual than him," Iyer continued.

Time will tell whether Rinku makes his India debut against Ireland on Friday, but his big-hitting ability in the middle order and consistent performances for the national team will undoubtedly earn him the title of finisher for India in the coming years.

Rinku has also been nominated to the Indian team for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain India at the Asian Games.