"There was a time when he was offered a job to mop the floor" - Harbhajan Singh shares how Rinku Singh gifted his father a bike
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh shared an uplifting story of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh's tryst with cricket in a school tournament.
The KKR batter hogged the limelight after smashing five sixes in a row off Gujarat Titans (GT) pace bowler Yash Dayal's bowling, which helped KKR chase down 29 runs off the last over at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, April 9.
The 25-year-old earned a huge amount of praise from around the world. While sharing a success story from Rinku's childhood game and how cricket helped the Aligarh-born win a bike, Harbhajan Singh narrated a story on his YouTube channel.
"There was a time when he was offered a job to mop the floor and he rejected that to focus on cricket. Then someone offered him to come to a school and play for them and they will give him free education. He (Rinku) said that I am not worried about my studies but only for cricket," Harbhajan said.
"He was told that if he performs well in that tournament and helps (the school) win it then he would get a chance to win a bike. The best player of the tournament was supposed to be awarded with a bike.
"So Rinku went there and performed well in three games and also won the bike. He gave that bike to his father and asked him to ride it instead of paddling on the cycle," he added.
Rinku Singh's father did not move into his new house - KKR batter's best friend
Rinku Singh's father Khanchand Singh is a gas cylinder delivery man. The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer has four siblings. Despite Rinku's cricketing success over the years, his father prefers to live a simple life.
Khanchand decided not to move into Rinku's new three-storey apartment in Aligarh's Rambaugh colony. Rinku's friend Waseem Mirza recently revealed that the star batter's father still watches Rinku's matches on their old television in the old house.
Mirza told The Indian Express:
"Even today his father refuses to buy a new TV. He is happy watching IPL games on the small dabba television. Recently, Rinku had again asked his parents to shift to the new house. But his father says that he has lived there all his life, why change the address now."
Rinku Singh was bought by KKR in the 2018 IPL auction for ₹80 lakhs against his base price of 20 lakhs. The franchise once again purchased him in a mega auction last year for an even lower sum of ₹55 lakhs.