'That's Muhammad Ali For Me': Sreesanth Claims He Sees Shades Of Late American Boxer In Rinku Singh

Amidst the echoes of Rinku Singh's "aggressive and fearless" approach, former India cricketer S Sreesanth believes that the 26-year-old's attitude towards the game is reminiscent of Muhammad Ali, the iconic sports figure of 20th century. Rinku, a rising star with a confident and fearless approach caught Sreeshant's eye and the 40-year-old sees shades of Muhammad Ali in the young batter.

The left-handed batter took the cricketing fraternity by storm when he slammed five sixes in the final over to get the required 29 runs against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023 and finished the season with over 450 runs. He was fast tracked into T20Is this year and has done immensely well in 9 appearances, striking at 197.72.

Speaking to IANS, Sreesanth said:

"I love Rinku Singh's confidence," said Sreesanth while highlighting his resilience and attitude. "He has been doing it consistently for every team he plays, whether it's club cricket, whether it's team cricket, whether it's a franchise. He doesn't care, doesn't get carried away but he speaks his heart out and that's Muhammad Ali for me," he added.

"Australia played the Australian way" - Sreesanth

The former right-arm pace bowler reflected on India's loss to Australia in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 finals, crediting Australia for outplaying the Indian team with their exceptional fielding while he shifted his hopes to the young shoulders of the Indian team gearing up for the T20 World Cup 2024.

"I'll be honest. Australia just outplayed us. Australia played the Australian way. Target which should have been 280 to 290, Australian fielders held it to 240. It was the Warner, Labuschagne, Smith who saved those 40 to 50 runs that changed the whole scenario of the game."

Travis Head was the star with the bat as he slammed 137 off 120 deliveries to help Australia go past the target of 241.

(With inputs from IANS)

Published on: Sunday, December 03, 2023, 12:42 PM IST