Big-hitting Rinku Singh says head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav have empowered Indian players to express themselves on the field and embrace their natural style while remaining relentless attacking.
No 5 batsman Rinku blasted 53 runs off 29 balls laying the foundation for India's 86-run victory over Bangladesh in the second T20I here on Wednesday, as he paired 108 off 49 balls with Nitish Kumar Reddy who amassed 74.
"The coach and the captain have asked us to play our game and whatever the situation is, the message from them is maarte jao ball ko (just keep hitting the ball)," said Rinku at the post-match press conference after India took an unassailable 2-0 lead.
"The coach has asked us to back ourselves and play your game. He has given us full freedom to hit the ball," added Rinku, who has worked with Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL.
Rinku, who has more often than not found himself batting towards the ending stages, was called into action in the sixth over on Wednesday after India were reduced to 41/3 inside the powerplay.
The swashbuckling batter from UP gave an insight to his approach: "At the position I bat, I get batting at different points in the game. Whenever I get batting early, my target is to take singles and doubles and go after the bad balls," he said.
"When I come to bat with 2-3 overs left, my aim is to hit more fours and sixes. My main aim is to collect more and more runs for the team."
He said that the ball was not coming properly on to the bat initially.
*Because when the match had started the ball was not coming properly on to the bat. When Sanju (Samson) and Surya bhai got out then Reddy told me that *ball phass rahi hai* (the ball is sticking on the wicket).
"I played according to the conditions and then the wicket slightly improved. We discussed that we had to get a (good) partnership first and generate momentum. We started with singles and then Reddy hit sixes and the momentum changed."
The UP all-rounders, who next will feature in the Ranji Trophy, indeed sees himself playing all three formats. "I do see myself as an all-format player, wherever I get the opportunity I will play," he said.
The third and final T20I will be played in Hyderabad on Saturday.
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