Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019: Rinku Singh picked in Uttar Pradesh squad for the tournament

During the last Indian Premier League (IPL), batsman Rinku Singh came into the headline for being sent to bat ahead of the in-form Andre Russell for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In June, he made the headlines again for getting suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for he had featured in an unauthorized tournament in Abu Dhabi. The 21-year-old cricketer from Uttar Pradesh, however, is set for a fresh start now as he has been picked in the Uttar Pradesh squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Rinku Singh is all set to return to action after serving three-months suspension by BCCI as he has been named in the Uttar Pradesh squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy starting from September 24. Rinku, who made his T20 and List A debut in 2014, played his first first-class game in 2016. Till now, he appeared in 19 first-class games to score 1,645 runs at an impressive average of 71 plus with five hundreds. In the T20s, he has a strike-rate of 140 above.

‘My target is to score as many runs’

“My only target is to play well and score as many runs as possible. I have been working hard for that. I did not take a break from cricket. In the last three months, I have trained hard and it will reflect on my performances. I am looking forward to the season,” Sportstar quoted Rinku as saying.

Rinku is also not eager to look back to his suspension. “Whatever has happened has happened. I have learned from my mistake and it’s time to move on.” He last played a competitive game in the IPL 2019 for the KKR against Mumbai Indians.

Veteran India player Suresh Raina, who captained UP last season, will miss the edition this year as he underwent knee surgery recently. Batsman Samarth Singh, 28, will lead the side in the place of Raina. UP’s first game in the Vijay Hazare Trophy is against Vadodara on September 25.

Here is the UP squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019:

Samarth Singh (Captain), Abhishek Goswami, Shivam Mavi, Akshdeep Nath, Hardeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Upendra Yadav, Almas Shaukat, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohsin Khan, Mohit Jangra, Saurabh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Shanu Saini, Ankit Chaudhary