"He kept telling me it was only a matter of time" - Dinesh Karthik on Rinku Singh's special relationship with Abhishek Nayar
Dinesh Karthik has shared wholesome insights into the relationship between Rinku Singh and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. Karthik, a former KKR captain, recalled that Nayar backed Rinku to the tilt and always believed that time and fine-tuning could make him do "really special" things.
The comments came in the wake of Rinku's 14-ball 22 helped India chase down 209 in a bilateral T20I against Australia in Vishakhapatnam. He soaked up the pressure and picked his moments to hit boundaries to see India through.
As he returned from the crease, Nayar, one of the broadcasters, hugged him near the boundary ropes and the video of the moment went viral on social media.
"This is one of the most fulfilling and heart warming pictures going around," Karthik said in a post on X. "The relationship between ABHISHEK NAYAR n RINKU SINGH ... it was a partnership that started in 2018 during my time in KKR. Nayar always saw the potential in Rinku , he kept telling me, it was only a matter of time before he did something really special."
Karthik added that Nayar helped Rinku "think big" and work on his death-over-hitting skills. He added that when the Aligarh-born tore his ACL in 2021, Nayar convinced KKR co-owner Venky Mysore to keep him around the team.
"He stayed in nayars house post IPL for many months for Rehab and started working on his batting and had a stellar domestic season and then eventually did what Nayar and kkr always thought he could do , a MATCH WINNING FINISHER," Karthik added.
This was his third such knock for India after a 21-ball 38 against Ireland and an unbeaten 15-ball 37 versus Nepal earlier this year.
"Must be a surreal feeling" - Dinesh Karthik
The former KKR captain added that seeing pictures of the hug makes him feel happiness for Nayar as a coach and a broadcaster.
"And today when I see this photo, i just feel like NAYAR as a coach has grown in stature and can share the happiness he feels for Rinku along with the rest of the world. Must be a surreal feeling seeing one of your students do well at a world stage and also be lucky enough to watch it live as a broadcaster and call the moment Well done @abhisheknayar1 and @rinkusingh235. To many more such stories ❤️🙏🏼👏🏼," Karthik wrote.
With the win, India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The second match will be played on Sunday.