"They are now expecting him to be another Yuvraj"- Sunil Gavaskar on Rinku Singh being hailed as the next Yuvraj Singh
Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar hailed Rinku Singh by acknowledging the comparisons made with former batter Yuvraj Singh.
Following an impressive IPL 2023 season, scoring 474 runs at an average of almost 60 and a strike rate of 149.53, Rinku has made incredible strides in his brief T20I career. The 26-year-old is averaging a stunning 60 in six T20Is at a fearsome strike rate of 187.50 despite playing the unthankful finishing role.
Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar feels if Rinku could achieve some of what Yuvraj did for Indian cricket, he could hold his head high.
"Now he's part of an India team. And now there's so much, so many high expectations of them. They are now expecting him to be another Yuvraj Singh. Rinku Singh - Yuvraj Singh. So if you can do even a fraction of what Yuvraj did for Indian cricket, then he will have done wonderfully well," said Gavaskar.
Yuvraj Singh was among the most accomplished white-ball batters of Indian cricket. The now-retired cricketer scored almost 12,000 international runs with 17 centuries.
Yuvraj was also the Player of the Tournament of India's triumphant 2011 ODI World Cup run and played a vital role in India winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.
"He has the belief that he could do it" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar further praised Rinku Singh for his persistence and belief to capitalize when the opportunity presented itself.
Despite his obvious talent, the 26-year-old played only 17 games in the IPL since his debut in 2018. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finally offered the youngster the full 14 games in the previous season, and Rinku grabbed it with both hands to earn a call-up to the national side.
"Talent - it's not given to everybody. You can love the game. You can play all day, but sometimes you know you might not quite have the talent, but he has the belief that he could do it, and that's what he's done over the last 2-3 years. Again here in the IPL, he was in and out of a lot of teams when he finally got the opportunity and the way he grabbed it (was amazing)," said Gavaskar.
Rinku is well-renowned after his brutal assault on Gujarat Titans' pacer Yash Dayal, smashing five sixes in the final over to help KKR pull off a miracle.
He has followed that up with several high-flying finishes in different situations for his franchise and Team India this year.