NEWS
Follow UsRinku Singh played a staggering cameo of 40 runs off just 15 balls to take Kolkata Knight Riders to the brink of victory and the margin was such that one more shot could have landed them an unbelievable win against Lucknow Super Giants. Rinku smashed Marcus Stoinis for back-to-back sixes in the final over to bring down the equation to 3 off 2 balls from 21 off the final over and that has certainly found him a fan in outcoming KKR coach Brendon McCullum.
"Good things happen to good people," said Brendon McCullum after the game. "What an incredible story for someone who's been around IPL now for five years. He's sat on the sidelines for so long, he's worked so hard, he gives to the team every single day that he has been around, he's had to wait for his opportunity and he got it late in this tournament and gee, he's taken it. He just plays the game for all the right reasons - all the reasons that I love as a coach and as a fan of cricket as well and he's a guy you really want to do well."
"Rinku is a player who KKR will, no doubt, invest in over the next few years and we'll see him really progress and maybe even challenge for higher honors in time as well. Because not too many people are able to bat in the middle order and, sort of, be able to try and pull games out of the fire like he has almost done for us on a couple of occasions this year. Just a great guy and really pleased for him."
With the loss, KKR have been eliminated from the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League and that also brings the curtains down on Brendon McCullum’s journey as the KKR coach. The New Zealander will join the England National team as the head coach of the Test team ahead of their series against New Zealand from June 2.
However, the Kiwi man stated that he will keep a close eye on the progress of Rinku Singh.
“I’m heading in a different direction with the challenge of being able to coach England, but I’ll be following the KKR boys and, particularly, Rinku. I really wish them all the best,” McCullum added.
