Noida, Feb 27: Indian cricket team batter Rinku Singh’s father, Khanchand Singh, died on Friday due to stage-four cancer. He was undergoing treatment at at the Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida, and his condition worsened earlier this week. Rinku, who is currently with the team for the T20 World Cup, travelled to visit him ahead of the match against Zimbabwe. However, his condition did not improve, and he had to be put on ventilator support. Rinku returned in time for the match but did not find a place in the playing XI, as Sanju Samson replaced him. However, he did take part in the match as a substitute fielder.
Rinku’s father played a huge role in his career and over the years, he was a big support for the India cricketer. He used to work as an LPG cylinder deliveryman in Aligarh and despite his financial limitations, he made sure that Rinku received every possible opportunity to make it big as a cricketer.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh took to social media to send his “heartfelt thoughts and prayers” to the entire family. In an X post, Harbhajan wrote, “Pained to learn about the demise of Shri Khanchand Singh Ji, father of Rinku Singh. This must be an especially difficult time for Rinku and his family, even as he remains committed to his responsibilities during the T20 World Cup. My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with him and his loved ones. May Waheguru grant eternal peace to the departed soul and give strength and courage to the bereaved family.”
It has been a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign for Rinku as he has scored just 24 runs in 5 innings. Although he came to the tournament at the back of a solid run of form, he has not received many opportunities to play a long innings and his lack of big scores led to Samson replacing him.
The Indian cricket team will now travel to Kolkata for their final Super 8 encounter against West Indies. The match will be a virtual quarterfinal with the winner booking their spot in the semifinals after India defeated Zimbabwe and West Indies slumped to a heavy loss against South Africa.
