'I don't know him personally but…': Ex-AUS star lifts Rinku to highest pedestal, places him beside Bevan, Hussey

Kolkata Knight Riders journey at IPL 2023 came to an end on Saturday night after the team endured a defeat against Lucknow Super Giants by the narrowest of margin. Chasing 177 in a crucial league encounter, the Knight Riders fell short by a run as Lucknow sealed the third play-offs berth.

(L-R) Michael Bevan, Rinku Singh, Michael Hussey

Kolkata, who lost their skipper Shreyas Iyer right before the start of the tournament, finished with 12 points from 14 points. Despite the disappointment of not making into the final four, they franchise do have a few positives to takeaway and the biggest of them being Rinku Singh.

The Aligarh cricketer etched a name for himself when he smashed 5 sixes to help his side chase 29 in the final over against Gujarat Titans. That was just one of his superlative knock and Rinku on several occasions finished the match for his side.

He almost did the same against Lucknow on Saturday. With 21 required in the final over, Rinku hammered Yash Thakur for a couple of sixes and a four, but could only muster 19 in the final over.

Despite the defeat, Rinku once again emerged as fan favourite and was hailed by many on social media, which included LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir.

Discussing Rinku Singh as a future prospect for T20 World Cup, ex-Australian cricketer Tom Moody made an interesting analogy. Impressed with Rinku's efforts, the former cricketer placed him with the likes of Australian greats Michael Bevan and Michael Hussey.

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"Without a doubt, because he's got the game, he's got a strong foundation to his name. He averages nearly 60 in first class cricket. He hasn't just sort of been plucked out of nowhere as a really good ball striker, without any pedigree.

"He's got pedigree to his game. He's got technique. He's got great balance and composure at the crease, and he's been in pressure situations in other formats of the game.

"One of the most impressive things is his temperament and the best finishers generally have really calculated minds but also very calm minds under pressure and he seems to have that.

“Look, I don't know him personally, I've never worked with him, but just as an observer and a fan, I look at it and think this guy's composed. He's in control. And I've seen that before in players historically like Michael Bevan, who I've played quite a bit of cricket with. In 50 over cricket he had that trait of just you're thinking the games getting away from him but he's got it absolutely under control. Mike Hussey of more recent than Michael Bevan. They seem to just understand how to finish a game in a very calm and composed way,” the ex-cricketer noted during an interaction on ESPNcricinfo.

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Focusing on Rinku's chances at the T20 World Cup, Moody added: “He's proving that he is very capable of holding down that specialist role. He's a gun fielder as well. So you're adding to your fielding dynamic. And that World Cup is far away. It's not like it's in two months time like the 50 over world cup. We're talking next year and he's going to play another IPL between now and then. And if he continues to do this, he's an absolute shoo-in.”

Despite coming to bat lower down the order, Rinku finished as KKR's leading run-scorer, amassing 474 runs from 14 innings at an average of 59.25 and maintained a strike-rate of 149.52.