'It tore out my flesh, bones were visible': Rinku Singh recalls fatal encounter with monkey

Rinku Singh recalls fatal encounter with monkey

India batter Rinku Singh has had an extraordinary journey. Coming from a humble background, Rinku used cricket to change his and his family's fortunes. Much of it came after the southpaw blasted five sixes off Yash Dayal in the final over of an IPL showdown between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2023. The moment saw Rinku become a popular figure in the cricketing ecosystem, and it also played a major role in him getting a call-up to the national side.

Rinku shed light on his early hardships in a recent appearance on Raj Shamani's podcast, during which he also mentioned a fatal encounter with a monkey. The experience left Rinku in blood and his arm gouged out, making it at least a kilogram lighter than the other.

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"The most dangerous bite he gave me happened when it was raining. At that time, in the house there wasn't really a washroom, so we used to go to the fields. It was the rainy season, so me, my brother, and my friend were going, carrying an umbrella. As we were going, someone behind us shouted, 'The monkey has come.' Then it came from behind and caught me. I was completely pinned down, and it kept biting me again and again. It tore out a lot of my flesh, a lot. There weren't many people around to save me. My brother was throwing stones at it, but it wouldn't leave me. It bit me very badly," Rinku recalled.

He then detailed the procedure after, which was equally chilling. “It was during the rain, then I ran from there. My blood was flowing like that, and my bones inside were visible. Then we went to a clinic. When they were doing the dressing, my family was just standing there with me, not knowing what would happen, whether I would survive or not, because a lot of blood was coming out. Somehow they called someone, made contact, saying, 'Come, a monkey has bitten a boy.' Then they came, did the dressing, and only after that I became fine,” he added.

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Rinku has since come a long way and has emerged as an excellent lower-order batsman, boasting frequent cameos to assist his team. He is currently part of India's 15-man squad for the Asia Cup, as the Men In Blue begin their title defence by launching the campaign against UAE.