Rinku Singh speaks out after maiden India call-up for Asian Games

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh has broken his silence after receiving his maiden call-up to the Indian team for the upcoming Asian Games.

The young cricketer was initially excluded from the India squad for the series against West Indies but has now been selected for the second-string Indian team participating in the Asian Games, set to begin on September 23.

Singh, who had a remarkable performance in the IPL 2023, scoring 474 runs with an average of 59.25, expressed his feelings on Instagram. He shared a picture of himself donning the Team India jersey, originally posted by KKR, and used a 'Nazar amulet' emoji to convey his emotions.

Known for his explosive batting, Singh gained fame by smashing five sixes in the last over of a league match against Gujarat Titans, leading KKR to a historic victory. With 42 first-class matches under his belt, he has scored 3007 runs at an average of 57.82.

Under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Singh will make his debut in the Asian Games team. The squad also includes uncapped T20 players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma, and Jitesh Sharma. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) opted to send a second-string team to the Asian Games due to scheduling conflicts with the first half of the ODI World Cup, which begins on October 5.

This marks the first time the Indian cricket team will participate in the Asian Games, despite cricket being included in the 2010 and 2014 editions of the tournament. The 15-member squad for the Asian Games includes Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, and Prabhsimran Singh (wicket-keeper).

Stand-by players for the squad are Yash Thakur, R Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, and B Sai Sudharsan.