Rinku Singh named KKR vice-captain, franchise signals future leadership shift
Kolkata (PTI): Three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday appointed explosive batter Rinku Singh as their vice-captain for IPL 2026, underlining the franchise’s long-term leadership plans.
Rinku will assist skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who has been retained as captain despite KKR’s disappointing IPL 2025 campaign.
“Rinku Singh will work very closely with skipper Ajinkya Rahane as vice-captain,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore said during the team’s ‘Knights Unplugged 3.0’ event here.
Backing the decision, head coach Abhishek Nayar said Rinku’s evolution within the set-up made him a natural choice for a leadership role.
“I’ve seen him evolve as a leader over the years. He’s someone the team always looks forward to, so we wanted to give him a little bit more responsibility. I feel it’s the perfect time after winning the T20 World Cup,” Nayar said.
Rinku’s rise has been one of the most remarkable stories in IPL history, from being picked for Rs 80 lakh in 2018 to being retained for Rs 13 crore ahead of IPL 2025.
He shot to fame after smashing five consecutive sixes in a last-over chase, a feat that fast-tracked his India call-up and cemented his reputation as one of the league’s premier finishers.
Both Rahane and Rinku were called on stage together, with the latter drawing the loudest cheers from the crowd, many even chanting “captain kore dao Rinku (make Rinku the captain)”, reflecting his immense popularity.
Barring the injured trio of Harshit Rana, Matheesha Pathirana and Akash Deep — the latter ruled out of the season — the entire squad was present along with the support staff.
The team will leave for Mumbai on Wednesday for the opening match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29.
Left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey, who has been named as Akash Deep’s replacement, was the first player to be introduced on stage.
Rahane, 37, had topped KKR’s scoring charts last season with 390 runs but could not prevent the team from finishing eighth with just five wins in 14 matches (two abandoned) during their title defence -- their worst showing since 2009.
KKR head into IPL 2026 with a significantly revamped batting unit after parting ways with stalwarts Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer, while making a record Rs 25.20 crore bid for Cameron Green.
The squad now boasts explosive options such as Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, alongside Sunil Narine at the top.
Rahane might not be a range-hitter that the modern T20 game demands, but the appointment of Rinku as his deputy suggests a clear succession plan.
Addressing questions around pressure following last season’s flop show, Rahane struck a composed note.
“Every year, there are different challenges as a player and also as a captain. What I learned throughout my journey is to be positive each and every time, whatever challenges are there,” he had said during KKR’s first media interaction last week.
“My mindset has always been like that throughout my career, that if I see any challenges or particular, if something difficult is, I look at it in a positive way and try to give my best as a player and also as a captain,” he added.
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3 officials of private banks arrested in Gujarat in Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud; 20 held so far
Rajkot (PTI): Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday.
Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device, he added.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All the three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, SP said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket with 535 complaints filed on the cyber crime portal.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
