Rinku Singh has been appointed as Uttar Pradesh captain for the Vijay Hazare Trophy which is set to begin on December 21. He will be taking over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar who led the side during SMAT 2024 where the side lost a quarter-final match against Delhi.
This will be the first time that Rinku will be captaining the side at the senior level. Earlier this year, he led Meerut Mavericks to the UPT20 title scoring 210 runs in nine runs innings at a strike rate of 161.54 largely as a finisher.
“It was a big opportunity for me to lead Meerut Mavericks in the UPT20 League, and I am happy that I could deliver,” said Rinku Singh. “I really enjoyed captaincy as it allowed me to learn many things.
“I did try my hand at bowling [offspin] too at the UPT20 league. Present-day cricket demands a full package – a cricketer who can bat, bowl and field. Now I am focusing on my bowling too. As captain of Uttar Pradesh, I have got a bigger role to play, and I’m ready for this.”
Rinku Singh who has been part of KKR in the Indian Premier League has been retained ahead of the IPL 2025 auction and are one of the contenders to lead the side for IPL 2025 season.
“I am not thinking too much about the captaincy of KKR in the new IPL season,” Rinku said. “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.”
The upcoming Vijay Hazare will help the selectors to assess players before picking India’s squad for ODI squad for the Champions Trophy in February.
While Rinku Singh has become a regular for India in T20Is, he has so far played just two ODIs having made his debut a year ago in South Africa.
Rinku SIngh has scored 1899 runs in 52 innings at an average of 48.69 and has a strike rate of 94.8 with a hundred and 17 half centuries.
“I believe in God,” he said. “I didn’t even think of being part of team India when I struck five consecutive sixes in the IPL last year.”
“That turned out to be the biggest game changer in my life. Even now I feel that if God has decided something for me, I will get that surely. But at the same time, I also need to work hard on my job.”
Uttar Pradesh’s first match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy will be played against Jammu and Kashmir on December 21 at Dr PVG Raju ACA Sports Complex.
Uttar Pradesh Squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25: Rinku Singh (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Madhav Kaushik, Karan Sharma, Priyam Garg, Nitish Rana, Abhishek Goswami, Akshadeep Nath, Aryan Juyal, Aradhya Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Kritagya Kumar Singh, Vipraj Nigam, Mohsin Khan, Shivam Mavi, Aquib Khan, Atal Behari Rai, Kartikya Jaiswal, Vineet Panwar
Also Read: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 Squad, Teams Players List
