The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) has named Rinku Singh as UP’s captain for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. This will mark his first stint of captaining a team at the senior level.
The explosive batter takes over from India’s pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who led the state team in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Bhuvi guided the team to the quarter-finals before losing to Delhi.
Prior to his appointment, Rinku was at the helm of Meerut Mavericks in the UPT20 League, where he led them to the title. The left-hander also had a good outing with the bat, netting 210 runs in nine innings while coming down the order.
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Before their Vijay Hazare Trophy opening clash, UP’s newly appointed captain, Rinku, said, “It was a big opportunity for me to lead Meerut Mavericks in the UPT20 League, and I am happy that I could deliver. I really enjoyed captaincy as it allowed me to learn many things.”
Rinku’s elevation to captaincy has also opened up the possibility of the batter leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2025. KKR are pondering over whom to appoint as their new captain after they didn’t retain Shreyas Iyer.
With Rinku trying his hands at captaincy, this gives KKR another option to look at apart from Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer.
Speaking about KKR captaincy, Rinku Singh said, “I am not thinking too much about the captaincy of KKR in the new IPL season. I am focused on my plans for Uttar Pradesh, as I want my team to regain the trophy we had won for the first time in 2015-16.”
Rinku will be eager to show his leadership acumen while trying to flex his batting muscle in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. India’s national selectors will keep track of the tournament to pick some potential players into the Champions Trophy 2025 squad slated for February 2025.
Rinku, though, doesn’t seem to be in the race, having played only two ODIs thus far for India. But his 50-over credentials are pretty good, with 1899 runs under his belt in 52 innings at an average of 48.69.
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He will try to do his best to get in the reckoning while leading UP to the title. UP are in Group D, and Rinku’s first assignment will be against Jammu and Kashmir on December 21.
