He is running on the strength of only 5 sixes…Srikanth lashed out at Rinku Singh, he is not fit to play at number 5.

New Delhi. The poor performance of the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the Indian Premier League is giving everyone an opportunity to criticize. The team has lost 4 consecutive matches. The performance of Rinku Singh, who was made the vice-captain of KKR this season, has also been very poor. Former Indian cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth has raised questions on his continuous support. Srikanth clearly said that Rinku Singh has not lived up to the expectations. Even now, he is running on the basis of the popularity he got due to hitting five consecutive sixes in IPL.

Srikanth also expressed doubts about Rinku Singh playing at number 5. Questions were raised about his ability to play long innings. The former selection committee chairman described KKR’s batting as the weakest batting line-up in the league. “Rinku Singh is not an explosive batsman. He hit five sixes in five balls a long time ago and we still talk about that. He is adept at rotating the strike, but when the run rate goes above 10 or 12, he faces problems. He can’t do that,” Srikkanth said in his YouTube show on Tuesday.

He further said, “He is more suitable as a finisher at number 7. When 50 runs are required in 5 overs, he can do well. Rinku should not be given the responsibility of making innings by batting at number 5. It will not work,”

In Tuesday’s match against Chennai Super Kings, Rinku Singh came to bat when KKR’s score was 79 for 3 in the 10th over. Captain Ajinkya Rahane needed a fast batsman after Angkrish Raghuvanshi was out for 27 runs. Rinku kept struggling and became the victim of Noor Ahmed after scoring only 6 runs in 12 balls. KKR’s innings faltered at 6 for 90. After this, Rovman Powell (31) and Ramandeep Singh (35) tried to handle the innings. Their partnership of 63 runs could only reduce the margin of defeat.

Rinku Singh created a sensation in the year 2023 by hitting five sixes in one over of Yash Dayal against Rajasthan Royals. He has not been able to repeat that performance. In the 2023 season, he scored 474 runs in 14 matches, but since then he has not been able to cross even the 220-run mark. In the current IPL 2026, this left-handed batsman has scored only 78 runs in five matches.