‘For the first time, I sat in a charter flight’ – Rinku Singh describes special journey with Shah Rukh Khan

Rinku Singh, an Indian cricketer, recently received a sweet gift from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan after being overlooked for Team India’s T20 World Cup 2024 roster, where he was only named as a reserve. The Men in Blue won the flagship event under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, but Rinku was unable to join the main squad and could only witness the celebrations from the sidelines.

Rinku Singh explained that he needed to travel to Mumbai for visa formalities and was requested to accompany the Bollywood superstar.

However, due of shyness, the left-handed batter initially hesitated and even attempted to deny the offer. However, the King Khan soon gained the trust of the Aligarh native and convinced him to seat in the hired carrier. During the journey, Rinku stated that the KKR co-owner encouraged him and elevated his spirits.

“So this was the time when I wasn’t selected in the main squad — I was in the standby list. The team had already left, and I had to go for visa formalities. Sir (referring to Shah Rukh Khan) also had to leave the next day. My flight had already been booked, and I was about to leave — alone. Somehow, either Sir or Pooja [Dadlani, Shah Rukh’s manager] ma’am found out, and they said I should travel with Sir, I was completely nervous — like, “I’m going to travel alone with Sir? How will I handle myself? What will I say? tried so many times to refuse,” Rinku told.

“But once Sir had said it, how could I say no? Yes, there was a conversation in the car. He was giving me a lot of encouragement. That season also wasn’t going too well for me. So he was explaining things to me, giving me support. So he was motivating me a lot. And for the first time, I sat in a charter flight — and that too, with Sir. Those two hours were really, really amazing for me. What can I even say it was just incredible. So many beautiful things happened,” he added.