The Kolkata Knight Riders’ “great escape” against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday brought some relief not only for the team, but also for Rinku Singh.

Of course, not every day will the Knight Riders or Rinku enjoy the benefits of such easy catch drops — like the one Nandre Burger dropped at short third man to let the left-hander off when he had scored just 8. But to Rinku’s credit, he held his nerves and made full use of that reprieve to hit an unbeaten 53 that eventually guided KKR
to their maiden win this season.

The composure with which he took his team home, braving a difficult situation, this is the Rinku that the Knights need if they are to keep alive their playoffs prospects.

Lack of enough runs cost him a place in India’s XI, and it had been hurting him in this IPL as well. But now that their vice-captain has regained some form and rhythm, KKR’s batting looks in better health.

The Knights’ top order is becoming a serious concern. Given Ajinkya Rahane’s form of late, he would have been dropped had he not been the captain. Tim Seifert, brought in as a replacement for fellow New Zealander Finn Allen, has managed scores of 19 and 0 in the two matches he played. The talented Angkrish Raghuvanshi, too,
has disappointed in the last couple of games.

In such a situation, with the team facing a must-win scenario in almost every game from hereon to make the playoffs, the Knights need someone capable of anchoring the innings. So, wouldn’t it be wise to slot Rinku for a permanent position in the top-five of the batting order?

Instead of attaching the finisher’s tag on him, slotting him higher, say at No. 4, could help him do justice to his overall abilities as a batter. An average of 59.30 after 52 first-class appearances and 52.56 from 70 List A games underline his abilities as a batter.

“After that reprieve, the way Rinku took his team to victory just shows his maturity. Looking at his capabilities as a batter, he’s an even better player if he gets more balls to face, because he has that ability to build an innings. His first-class and List A averages prove so,” Arvind Kapoor, head coach of Rinku’s state team Uttar Pradesh, told
The Telegraph on Monday.

“Rinku had told me earlier that if he gets to bat higher up the order, he has a bigger scope of putting up a stronger performance. So, if not at a higher slot, his team should fix his position at least among the top five. He’s not a slogger by any means,” Kapoor, also the mentor of Rinku’s UP T20 League team, Meerut Mavericks, said.

In the current edition, Rinku initially did bat at No. 5, tallying 78 in four innings, averaging 26. But against the Titans and the Royals, he was again dropped down to Nos. 7 and 6.

The ploy luckily worked against the Royals. But to get the best out of Rinku, KKR need to treat him as a proper batsman and avoid random shuffling of his position in the batting order.