Shah Rukh Khan took me on a chartered flight after team India snub: Rinku Singh

India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh revealed a heartwarming gesture from his team owner and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan after he missed team India selection. Rinku couldn’t be a part of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad and was included in the reserves.

The star batter had to leave for Mumbai for visa formalities and was asked to travel with Shah Rukh Khan. However, he wasn’t too willing to travel with the Bollywood star out of shyness and tried to refuse.

“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 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 RevSportz.

However, he couldn’t refuse when Shahrukh himself asked him to travel with him. The right-handed batter also revealed that he encouraged him a lot during the journey.

“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.

Rinku Singh rose to limelight during the 2023 IPL after hitting five successive sixes against Yash Dayal and helping KKR register an improbable win. He finished the season with 474 runs from 14 innings at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.52 with four fifties. Following KKR’s victorious season in 2024, Rinku’s price grew exponentially as he was retained for a whopping Rs 13 crore for the 2025 season.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old will next feature in the Asia Cup 2025 as India start their campaign against United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 10.