This is the first time Rinku will captain a senior state team. Earlier this year, he led Meerut Mavericks to the UPT20 League title, scoring 210 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 161.54, largely as a finisher.
“It was a great opportunity for me to lead Meerut Mavericks in the UPT20 League, and I am happy that I was able to fulfill it,” Rinku said ahead of his first Vijay Hazare Trophy match. “I really enjoyed the captaincy because it allowed me to learn many things.
“I tried my hand at bowling [offspin] also in the UPT20 league. Today’s cricket demands a complete package – a cricketer who can bat, bowl and field. Now I am also concentrating on bowling. As captain of Uttar Pradesh, I have a bigger role to play and I am ready for it.”
Rinku’s promotion in the UP team comes at a time when Kolkata Knight Riders, his IPL franchise, are considering his captaincy options ahead of IPL 2025. He has been part of the KKR setup since 2018 and was signed before the mega auction in November. , along with Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy and Ramandeep Singh.
“I am not thinking too much about KKR captaincy 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 won for the first time in 2015-16.”
The Vijay Hazare Trophy will help the national selectors get an idea of the players when they choose India’s ODI team for the Champions Trophy in February. While Rinku has become a regular for India in T20Is, he has only played two ODIs so far, having made his debut a year ago in South Africa.
Rinku’s overall A-List numbers are impressive. He has scored 1899 runs in 52 innings at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 94.8, with one hundred and 17 half-centuries. Rinku, however, does not consider the Vijay Hazare Trophy as an audition for India.
“I believe in God,” he said. “I didn’t even think of being a part of the Indian team when I hit five consecutive sixes in the IPL last year. That turned out to be the biggest change in my life. Even now I feel that if God has decided something for me, I will surely achieve it. But at the same time, I also need to work hard at my job.”
UP will begin its campaign against Jammu and Kashmir on December 21 and then play Mizoram (December 23), Tamil Nadu (December 26), Chhattisgarh (December 28), Chandigarh (December 31) and Vidarbha (January 3 ).
Shashank Kishore is Senior Deputy Editor at ESPNcricinfo
