IPL 2023: Chris Gayle says Rinku Singh will get his pay cheque higher next year

Former West Indies batter and IPL legend Chris Gayle feels Rinku Singh has been Kolkata Knight Riders' best batter in IPL 2023 and will definitely earn a bigger paycheque next year.

Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a loss to Lucknow Super Giants in their final league stage game of the season on Saturday (May 20) night at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Chasing 177, Kolkata's innings showed the hunger to win their final game at home but they fell short by one run, scoring 175 runs with Rinku almost pulling off a final over comeback win. He scored 67 runs in 33 deliveries (6x4, 4x6).

Even though KKR lost the game and have had a disappointing season, the emergence of Rinku has been great to watch for the fans of the team. The UP batter has scored 474 runs, including 4 fifties, in 14 innings at an average of 59.25 and strike rate of 149.52.

JioCinema TATA IPL expert Gayle thinks Singh will end up getting a massive spike in his IPL salary in 2024 thanks to his consistent performances in a team that finished outside the playoff spots.

"Rinku Singh has done this in a few occasions for KKR before. I am sure next year, he's going to get his paycheque a little higher because he's been the best performer with the bat for KKR," Gayle said.

Another JioCinema TATA IPL expert Zaheer Khan has also been taken aback by the emergence of Rinku Singh this season, surpassing KKR legend Andre Russell in the pecking order.

"If you had to look at a bright spot for KKR this season, it was Rinku Singh. He was standing between LSG and the playoffs and played with a lot of confidence. He's carried himself and the team like that all season long," Zaheer said.

"When you have an accomplished finisher like Russell, and yet he is not being discussed during this season when you speak of KKR. If Rinku Singh has been able to move a name like that to the back, just goes to show how good his season has been for him."

It looked like the Super Giants will fail to put up a competent total with the bat until Nicolas Pooran came to the crease and gave Lucknow's batting the boost it desperately needed.

Lucknow took the crease to bat first and scored 176 runs, with Pooran's 58 runs (30b, 4x4, 5x6) being the highlight of the innings, helping the team to a fighting total after half the side had departed with just 73 run on the board.

JioCinema TATA IPL expert Pragyan Ojha spoke about Pooran's innings after the game, stating the situation was tough when the West Indian walked out to bat at five down.

"It was very important. In the position he came to bat in, the situation, and the number he came out at, it isn't easy. When the team needed him, he put together a half century for the team," Ojha said.

"And gave them a respectable score, a total they can fight with. We know the kind of batting Nicolas Pooran can do and that's what he did, when the team needed him the most."

Lucknow will have to wait till Sunday (May 21) to see who their Eliminator opponents will be after locking the No. 3 spot in the standings with this win, while KKR are eliminated.