Indian cricketer Rinku Singh on Wednesday thanked the Uttar Pradesh government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after being appointed as the regional sports officer under the state’s sports quota scheme.
In a video message shared on social media, the left-handed batsman thanked the authorities for the appointment and also acknowledged the financial assistance of Rs 3 crore given to him.
“I thank the Uttar Pradesh government and Hon’ble Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for appointing me as Regional Sports Officer,” said Rinku.
Big win for Rinka Singh! UP government announces 3 million crowns reward and sports officer job for cricketers. He missed the event but sent a heartfelt video thanking CM Yogi Adityanath pic.twitter.com/3OwKSraz3P— indianlast24hr (@indiain24hr) March 25, 2026
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The 26-year-old said he could not attend the appointment letter distribution ceremony held on Tuesday due to his commitments with his Indian Premier League franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders. He, however, added that he would soon travel to Lucknow where he would receive the letter and seek the Chief Minister’s blessings.
Rinku’s appointment is part of a wider initiative by the state government to provide employment to international medal athletes. Among others is Rajkumar Pal, a member of India’s bronze medal-winning hockey team at the Paris 2024 Olympics, who will be appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). Hailing from Ghazipur, Rajkumar is one of the six recognized athletes.
Paralympic high jump gold medalist Praveen Kumar (Gautam Buddh Nagar) will also be appointed DSP, while javelin silver medalist Ajit Singh (Etawah) and 200m bronze medalist Simran (Ghaziabad) will be given the role of District Panchayat Raj Officer.
Director of Sports RP Singh told PTI that Rinku expressed his gratitude despite being unable to attend the ceremony. He added that the cricketer will join duty at the Lucknow office of the Sports Directorate as soon as his schedule permits.
The official said that Rinku’s duties will be assigned in a manner that will allow him to continue his cricket career while taking on administrative duties.
Rinku, who was part of India’s victorious campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, has been rising rapidly in recent years. He lost his father during the tournament and briefly returned home to Aligarh for the funeral before rejoining the team.
Off the field, Rinku is engaged to Priya Saroj, a Member of Parliament from Machhlishahr representing the Samajwadi Party.
During the celebration at the Lok Bhavan on Tuesday, Adityanath also noted that Rinku was expected to attend but could not attend due to prior commitments.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
26 March 2026 08:55 IST
