"Nobody had seen so much money in my family before" - Rinku Singh on being picked by KKR for ₹80 Lakhs in the 2018 auction

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh has opened up about his family's reaction after he was roped in by the franchise for a sum of ₹80 lakhs at the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The 24-year-old has been associated with the two-time winners ever since.

The Aligarh-born player was bought by the Punjab franchise for his base price in 2017. Despite not making an appearance, his credentials in domestic cricket for Uttar Pradesh worked in his favor as KKR invested in him. He was bought back by the franchise in the 2022 mega auction for a sum of ₹55 Lakhs.

Admitting that nobody in his family had ever seen such a huge amount of money, Rinku Singh told KKR.in:

"[Nitish] Rana ji told me KKR would bid for me. That assured me I would play for them again. There's a lot of love. KKR has moulded my life. Almost all of my problems went away after KKR picked me for INR 80 lakhs. Nobody had seen so much money in my family before."

He added:

"It's a huge amount. My father's income was barely 10-12 thousand. My family is quite proud of me."

Singh missed the entire IPL 2021 following a knee injury and has struggled for regular game time in the star-studded KKR playing XI. He has arguably had a breakthrough campaign this year with 174 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 148.72 coming in the lower middle-order.

Catch the next match on the IPL timetable 2022 here.

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"Even though I couldn't perform, the team has trusted me a lot" - Rinku Singh on his relationship with KKR

After ten sporadic appearances for the franchise in his first four seasons, Rinku Singh scored only 77 runs at a strike rate just below 100. He has largely been used as a substitute fielder, where he has shown his ability time and time again. The youngster is deemed an important member of the KKR dressing room as well.

Speaking about his stint with the franchise, Rinku Singh said:

"Everyone thinks I'm always happy, cheerful and never sad and that's why they adore me. These five years were really tough for me after the first year when I was picked for KKR and I got the chance to play then."

He went on to add:

"Even though I couldn't perform, the team has trusted me a lot. They retained me the next year. I trained hard the way my body language is. The team never thought I was down."

Rinku Singh delivered an incredible 40-run innings off just 15 deliveries on Wednesday (May 18) for KKR against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Unfortunately, it was not enough to save his side from a heart-breaking two-run defeat.

The loss brought an end to KKR's IPL 2022 campaign as they ended with 12 points in the league stage, which was insufficient to take them into the IPL 2022 playoffs.