BCCI suspends KKR player Rinku Singh for three months

India A and Kolkata Knight Riders batsman, Rinku Singh has been suspended by the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) after he took part in an unsanctioned T20 league. Singh, an Uttar Pradesh based cricketer, was found guilty of violating the BCCI guidelines after he failed to take permission from the board for playing in the tournament.

Reaffirming their stern stand that each player registered under the Indian governing council must abide by the rules and regulations, the BCCI came out with a strongly worded statement detailing the reason for Rinku Singh’s suspension and the length of the punishment accorded to him.

The statement read,

As per the BCCI norms, a player registered with the board cannot play in any tournaments abroad without its permission. Rinku Singh therefore has been suspended with immediate effect for a period of three months starting June 1, 2019. He has been removed from the current India ‘A’ squad set to play a multi-day game against Sri Lanka ‘A’ starting May 31, 2019.

The BCCI will not tolerate such violations in the future and strict actions will be taken if a player is found violating the BCCI rules and regulations.

The decision by the BCCI was taken after Rinku played in the Ramadan T20 Cup for the Deccan Gladiators team where he scored 104 runs in an innings, and picked up two wickets. He had also been a part of the league in 2017, when he had been selected to play for the Abulond Tigers.

With his ban slated to start from June 1, the move is a massive setback for Rinku who had been selected for the India A squad for their upcoming series against Sri Lanka beginning today. Rinku had only recently made a foray into the world of Indian domestic cricket after scoring over 1,600 runs in 19 domestic matches, which include five centuries.

His major appearance came for Kolkata Knight Riders this season in the Indian Premier League, a tournament where he has played a total of nine matches so far, alongside the 47 T20s where he’s scored 600 runs.

He can also bowl off spin and has been used as a bowler by his sides on multiple occassions too.