Rinku Singh gained immense popularity after hitting 5 consecutive sixes in the last 5 balls of the final over to give his team an impossible-looking victory over GT. If that wasn’t enough, Rinku followed it with a half-century against Sunrisers Hyderabad. With scores of 46, 48 and an unbeaten 58, Rinku has become the story of this year’s IPL.
Having said that, Rinku has received invaluable advice from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. The former India captain feels that the 25-year-old needs to be a little cautious and make sure he deals with this overnight success better.
“Of course, he will now be the centre of a lot of eyes and will be in demand a lot more than he was a week or so back. How he and his family handle the sudden public gaze will determine how he progresses in his career. There is absolutely nothing wrong in letting success go to one’s head for as sure as night follows day there will be a fall. How one picks oneself up after the fall is important, and it’s here that the family and genuine well-wishers play an important role,” Gavaskar wrote in Mid-Day.
“They are the ones who lift you up and reinforce the belief that you can do it again. When that happens, the person is not just a better player but a better human being for having seen both sides of the coin and knowing which is the one he should be going after. Many have faded after succeeding simply because there was no backup from family and friends.”
Sunil Gavaskar has placed Rinku’s innings against GT a notch above Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes against Stuart Broad at the 2007 T20 World Cup.
“More than five sixes in an over have been hit before most notably by Yuvraj Singh and that too in an ICC T20 World Cup, but to hit five consecutive ones off the last five deliveries in the match and that too when 30 runs were needed to win makes it a fairy tale-like never before. The poise, the balance and the ferocity with which they were struck was jaw dropping because when you see Rinku Singh from close quarters, he is not a big-built powerful looking person but an average guy who would not grab attention straightaway,” added the legendary former India batter.