“It's like he's been playing international cricket for decades” - Abhishek Nayar praises "finisher" Rinku Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has praised Rinku Singh over his impressive finishing skills in T20 cricket. Referring to his cameo in the first T20I against Australia in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, Nayar opined that he has been batting as if he's been playing international cricket for decades.

India beat Australia by two wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series. Chasing a big target of 209, skipper Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for the Men in Blue with 80 off 42. It, however, needed a cameo from Rinku Singh (22* off 14) to lift India past the finish line.

Speaking to Jio Cinema, Nayar hailed the 26-year-old for maintaining his composure under pressure yet again.

“It takes a lot of character. We speak about someone, who has done it in the IPL and domestic cricket. Just to see Rinku hold his nerve and to have the have the composure shows that he has grown leaps and bounds,” the KKR assistant coach said.

“It's the third time he has done this for India, the third time India needed him to do something special, and he turned up. It's like he's been playing international cricket for decades, not just a handful of years,” Nayar added.

Rinku struck four fours in his cameo to ensure victory for India after a brief batting collapse.

---

“He has mastered the art of finishing an innings” - Nayar’s on Rinku Singh

Praising the left-hander further, Nayar opined that Rinku has mastered the art of finishing an innings and termed him as India’s new finisher after MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya.

“It tells you that he has mastered the art of finishing an innings. It’s not easy and it’s been a while that Hardik and MS Dhoni did that for us, but post that, there’s no one, who has played the finisher’s role so well. It’s not just the runs he gets, but the way he gets them. There is a certain calm and composure about the way he’s playing his cricket,” Nayar commented in praise of the talented batter.

With the win, India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The second T20I will be played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.