India’s Rinku Singh did what no other Indian or foreigner had done before in India in T20Is. On January 28 (Wednesday), playing against New Zealand in the fourth T20I of the five-match series at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Rinku took four catches, which is the most by a non-wicket-keeper fielder on Indian soil.
With this, Rinku broke Virat Kohli’s record of three catches as a non-wicket-keeping fielder. Rinku’s four catches are the most by a non-wicket-keeper fielder on Indian soil.
Rinku equals Pakistan’s Saim Ayub’s record as well
Rinku also equalled Pakistan’s Saim Ayub as the only other non-wicket-keeper fielder to have taken four catches against New Zealand. The Pakistani star batter had achieved the feat in Auckland in 2024 on the country’s last tour there.
Rinku Singh’s record-breaking field in India
| Player | Team | Catches | Opponent | Venue | Year |
| Rinku Singh | India | 4 | New Zealand | Visakhapatnam | 2026 |
| Hardik Pandya | India | 3 | New Zealand | Raipur | 2026 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 3 | England | Bengaluru | 2017 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 3 | West Indies | Lucknow | 2018 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | India | 3 | New Zealand | Ahmedabad | 2023 |
| Ben Stokes | England | 3 | West Indies | Kolkata | 2016 |
Rinku was brilliant in the field, taking high-flying skiers, jumping at long off, and making a jump catch as well. Eventually, he took four catches, helping bowlers get the wickets of Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, and Zakary Foulkes in the game.
Rinku on level terms with his former KKR captain
Not only did he equal Ayub of Pakistan, but Rinku now also holds the record for most catches in a match by a non-wicket-keeper Indian, joining his former Kolkata Knight Riders captain, Ajinkya Rahane, who too had taken four catches against England in a 2014 T20I in Birmingham.
Despite the brilliance in the field and 39 runs with the bat from Rinku, India fell short by 50 runs, getting bowled out at 165 against New Zealand to lose the match, chasing 216 to win.
Rinku is in a league of his own
Rainku has so far played two ODIs and 39 T20Is for the country, scoring a total of 688 runs, and he has so far taken 30 catches, which equals 0.739 catches per innings. This is not only the highest in India, but in the entire world, among players with more than 20 catches in T20Is. Second to Rinku is UAE’s Muhammad Waseem, who has a catch per innings ratio of 0.78, taking 71 catches in 91 innings.