"He is somebody I'd call a left-handed Dhoni" - Ravichandran Ashwin hails Rinku Singh for his composure

Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin termed Rinku Singh as ‘a left-handed Dhoni’ while hailing the batter for his composure with the bat in tricky circumstances. Clarifying that there is no comparison between Rinku and Dhoni, Ashwin stated that the left-hander has impressed many with his calm and collected attitude, something which the former Indian skipper is renowned for.

Following a brilliant Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season, Rinku was drafted into India’s T20I squad and has made a huge impression with his finishing skills. In the third T20I against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, he clobbered 69* off 39 balls, adding an unbeaten 190 runs for the fifth wicket with skipper Rohit Sharma after India had crumbled to 22/4.

While speaking on his YouTube show, Ashwin had plenty of words of praise for the hard-hitting left-handed batter.

“He is somebody I’d call a left-handed Dhoni. I can’t compare him to Dhoni just yet because Dhoni is too big. But, I am talking about the composure that he brings. He has been consistently scoring buckets of runs for UP and broke his way into the Indian team,” the 37-year-old commented.

Sharing an anecdote about the 26-year-old's dedication, he revealed how the cricketer kept himself occupied when he was on the bench for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

“He was on the KKR bench for many years. People used to tell me that, when he was at KKR, even though he couldn’t get the chance to bat at practice, he collected all the balls that batters hit in throwdowns and gave them back to the bowler," Ashwin elaborated.

“Since then, he has been with the franchise for so long, put in the hard work for UP and showed that he’s always available to get to the Indian team out of a tricky situation or finish an innings. The composure doesn’t change whether the team is batting first or chasing. His composure towards the back end of the innings is a bonus,” the Indian bowler added.

Rinku smashed 474 runs in 14 matches for KKR in IPL 2023 at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.53.

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Rinku Singh has made a brilliant start to his T20I career

Rinku made his T20I debut in August 2023 against Ireland in Dublin. In 11 innings so far, he has smacked 356 runs at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.23.

The left-hander has notched up two half-centuries in his short T20I career. Before his 69* against Afghanistan, he scored 68* off 39 balls versus South Africa in Gqeberha in December last year.