Top News

Rinku Singh, mourning his father's death, expressed deep emotion after winning the T20 World Cup, fulfilling his late father's dream despite personal loss.
For everyone in the Indian team, winning back-to-back T20 World Cups, that too on home turf this time, was the biggest moment of their lives. However, for batter Rinku Singh, the emotion was heavy with sadness after his father passed away midway through the campaign.

“Kash aap mere paas hote” (wish you were still with me), the left-handed batter wrote on his Instagram account. His father, Khanchand Singh, who helped fulfil his son’s cricket dreams despite a dire financial situation, died after battling cancer, before India’s virtual quarterfinal Super 8 game against West Indies in Kolkata.

The player from Aligarh further wrote: “Aapse baat kiye bina itne din kabhi nahi nikale. Mujhe nahi pata aage ki zindagi aapke bina kaise chalegi… par mujhe har kadam par aapki zaroorat padegi,” (I have never spent so many days without talking to you. I don’t know how life will be without you. I will need your support at every step.)

He added that his father had always taught him that duty comes before everything else. “… field par bas aapka sapna poora karne ki koshish kar raha tha. Ab aapka sapna pura ho gaya hai…,” (I was only trying to fulfil your dream on the cricket field. Now your dream has been fulfilled), he wrote.
“Har chhoti badi khushi mein aapki kami khalegi. Bohot miss karunga aapko papa...bohot zyada,” (In every small happiness, I will feel your absence. I will miss you very much, papa).

Before visiting his father for the last time at a Noida hospital, Rinku had rushed home following India’s first Super 8 match against South Africa in Ahmedabad after Khanchand Singh’s health worsened. Rinku rejoined the squad in Chennai ahead of the clash against Zimbabwe.
Although Rinku scored just 24 runs in five innings in the World Cup, with 11 not out in the win over Pakistan, his best, his fielding, even as a substitute, was one of the big pluses for India. He took five catches and missed just one.

“Rinku’s brave gesture during the WC matches was remarkable. His contribution to the team in such a situation will never go unnoticed,” his childhood coach Masood Ameeni said on Tuesday. “I saw Rinku’s emotional state at his father’s funeral, but immediately after that, he stood like a rock for the team in the remaining three matches till the final,” he added.