IPL 2023: From carrying cylinders to mopping floors, Rinku has come a long way

KKR’s Rinku Singh during his 48 not out on Sunday. Pic/PTI

"You don't have to tell anyone that you mop floors at a tuition centre. Just come in the morning, do the cleaning and leave. Nobody will know," these were Rinku Singh's father's words to him before he began playing at the U-16 level for Uttar Pradesh. "But I didn't like the idea," Rinku once said, while narrating his ordeal.

The family of seven, which included five sons, found father Khanchand's meagre income from delivering LPG cylinders door-to-door, insufficient for financial sustenance and most of them had to do odd jobs to make ends meet.

"I'm not educated enough to fall back on academics. It is only cricket that could have taken me forward and it wasn't just one of the options, but the only option," his jaws tightened as he spoke to KKR's official YouTube channel during an interaction.

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Lifting heavy LPG cylinder requires a lot of strength. Rinku and one of his brothers, riding pillion, would often carry a heavy cylinder on their bike across the bylanes of Aligarh to residential areas and hotels for delivery. "My father was a hawker, delivering LPG cylinders, and when he wouldn't be available for the job, we brothers had to fill in while he would sit with a stick till we finished the deliveries," the UP southpaw had said.

Three years back Rinku has moved his family to their new apartment in the city, the first thing he did with his IPL earnings. He has also cleared all the outstanding loans for his family.

Rinku has the talent and ability, but after Sunday, it can be safely said that he also has the heart to own the big stage in the most difficult of circumstances.

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