Ready for bigger role as UP captain: Rinku

Before playing in the Duleep Trophy this September, batter Rinku Singh ensured his team Meerut Mavericks would finish on top in the second edition of the Uttar Pradesh Twenty20 League in Lucknow.

- Sharad Deep

LUCKNOW:

He not only scored 210 runs with 15 boundaries and 11 sixes at a strike rate of 161.54, but also took seven wickets at 11.71 in nine matches before young opening batter Madhav Kushik led the side to victory in the final against Kanpur Superstars, at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Rinku's 12-ball 39 against Lucknow Falcons with the help of three boundaries and four sixes had an extraordinary strike rate of 325. His three wickets in an over against Kanpur Superstars was the highlight of his skill as skipper.

Rinku was captaining any team for the first time at the UPT20 League. It was a kind of audition for him to shoulder a bigger responsibility in future. It was no surprise when the Praveen Kumar-led selection panel handed him the baton of captaincy for the Uttar Pradesh team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting Saturday after relieving Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the leadership.

"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 said on Thursday.