Aligarh, a city known for its poetry and lock industry, has unlocked a cricket hero. Rinku Singh, the square-jawed, steel-willed son of a gas cylinder delivery man, has been one of the stories of this year’s IPL. The 25-year-old KKR left-hander had already made the leap from living in a cramped tin-roofed house in Aligarh to rubbing shoulders with Shah Rukh Khan after fetching Rs 80 lakh in the 2018 IPL auction. But it was this year that he really got the chance to showcase his skill and power.
Early in IPL 2023, Singh slammed five sixes in a row in the last over against the Gujarat Titans and became a nationwide talking point. He followed that up with other spectacular knocks. In 14 games in IPL 2023, Singh blasted 474 runs, the most for any batsman playing at No. 5 or below in this year’s edition. Importantly, he made them at a strike rate of almost 150.
Two men have had a big hand in Singh’s emergence. One is his coach Masood Uz Zafar Amini, a man with the lean face and aviator sunglasses of an intelligence officer. The other is his friend Mohammad Zeeshan, who shares a passion for cricket, and, apparently, leather jackets, with Singh. While Amini trained Singh in the sport, Zeeshan was by his side like a brother if he ever lacked for anything.
Amini spoke to Outlook on the inspiring rags-to-stardom story of his protege, and what it takes to reach the top in cricket from Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with over 240 million people.
How did Rinku’s cricketing journey under you begin?
I was a coach at Aligarh Sports Stadium. Rinku came to me some 12 years ago. He would always come to the ground and watch the training and tournaments. Then I saw him play once or twice and asked him to join coaching.
Rinku came from a poor family. His father was an LPG delivery person and he still does that job. His father did not like him playing at all and would often scold him.
He wanted Rinku to study. But Rinku would say to me, “I don’t like studying, I will just play cricket.” I’d tell him both are necessary. At that time, that was the sane advice to give.
What did you see in him?
Match ko finish karta tha (He’d finish matches). He had a cool and positive temperament. When he went to bat, he’d assess the situation well and bat accordingly.
Secondly, right from the start, he did well in matches. In his first game for UP under-16 in Agra, he made 150-plus. Since then he has not looked back. He made the UP under-19 team, then the UP Ranji Trophy team and then IPL.
How was the set-up in Aligarh when you started coaching Rinku?
It was a government stadium, which we would manage ourselves. We got a small salary from the government and did not take any fees from students. Some six, seven years ago, I opened an academy. There are about 80 kids there. It might have been half that number if not for Rinku’s impact.
Look, Aligarh is a small part of UP. We have talent, but Kanpur is the cricketing headquarter of UP, and to register on their radar for players from Aligarh is not easy. First, there are local trials, then trial matches, then regional matches, then zonal matches, and then you get a trial in Kanpur.
What is your advice to players and parents, especially from underprivileged backgrounds?
Work hard. Hard work never goes waste. Don’t ignore your studies. There is so much competition in cricket that not everyone is going to make it. But our approach is to help talented kids as much as possible.
We explain to parents that they will have to be patient. And their child will need to have something extra. The competition is huge. Line lagi hui hai. Hundred per cent wale sau mil jayenge. (There is a line of talented kids. You will find a 100 of them with 100 per cent ability.) Rinku is extraordinary. For a long time he was on the bench in the IPL. But he stayed patient, believing that his day would come, and till then he kept working on his game and fitness. And it was then, after a journey of 10-12 years, that he made it on the big stage.
How frequently do you speak?
Every couple of days. We are organizing the Aligarh Premier League from the end of May. We want him to inaugurate the tournament and I hope he gets the time to come back home.
What is the status of the hostel that Rinku is reportedly building for young players in Aligarh?
It’s 90 per cent ready and ten or twelve kids have already moved in. He always wanted to do this, build a facility for young players who do not have the means.
