“Ideal package to have in any format in any team”- KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar hails Rinku Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has hailed Rinku Singh, describing him as a level-headed cricketer and an “ideal package” for a team irrespective of the format. Nayar added that Rinku’s success in the Indian Premier League (IPL) isn’t surprising since he has gone through the grind of domestic cricket.

Rinku was the Player of the Match for his 54 off 43 balls in the IPL 2023 match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, May 14. The 25-year-old added 99 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Nitish Rana (57* off 44) as KKR chased down a target of 145 with six wickets in hand.

Rinku is having a stellar IPL 2023 season for KKR. In 13 matches, he has scored 407 runs at an average of 50.88 and a strike rate of 143.31, with three half-centuries.

Praising the left-handed batter, Nayar said at a post-match press conference:

"Rinku Singh has always been a great player of spin. If you go back and look at his first-class season, domestic cricket in general, Rinku Singh is one name that will come across as one of those three-four people who have been successful over the past two-three season.

"He has always been someone who has done that for UP in domestic cricket in different situations. He knows how to play in these conditions; domestic cricket gives you one of the most challenging pitches. He has been through the grind, I am so happy to see him achieve success like that."

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Terming Rinku a hard-working cricketer, the former Mumbai all-rounder added:

"I think it's just the beginning and the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he is going to achieve going forward because he is a level-headed, hard-working who wants to evolve as a cricketer and he is the ideal package to have in any format in any team.”

Earlier in the season, Rinku clobbered Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes in the last over of the match to pull off an incredible win for KKR.

“After last season, we discussed quite a bit on what we thought went wrong” - Nayar on Varun Chakravarthy

Apart from Rinku, leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy has also been among KKR’s star performers. The latter has claimed 19 wickets in 13 matches, a stark contrast to his six scalps in 11 games last season.

Nayar revealed that a lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes, resulting in Chakravarthy's change in fortune. He elaborated:

"After last season, we discussed quite a bit on what we thought went wrong and also I think when you play season after season, teams tend to target you differently. One of things we tried to do throughout the off-season and throughout the season was to understand the challenges we were going to face. There is a stark difference in terms of how he's using his deliveries - using the one that goes away a lot more than he was doing last year.

"So, a lot of work went in not just technically and tactically but also understanding his mindset in terms of understanding how individuals are going to target him." Nayar added, "I think last year when he didn't have a great season, the ways in which every team was targeting him and certain areas where they constantly hit him.