Explosive India batter Rinku Singh was on Friday named Uttar Pradesh captain for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, marking his first stint as skipper at the senior state level. He succeeds Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who led the side in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Rinku, who led Meerut Mavericks to the UPT20 League title earlier this year, is keen to make the most of this opportunity. He scored 210 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 161.54 largely as a finisher in the tournament. "It was a big opportunity for me to lead Meerut Mavericks in the UPT20 League, and I am happy that I could deliver," Rinku was quoted saying in ESPNCricinfo. "I really enjoyed captaincy as it allowed me to learn many things." In IPL, Rinku, the designated finisher for Kolkata Knight Riders, was retained by the franchise alongside Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy and Ramandeep Singh. The reigning champions will have a new captain this season after they released Shreyas Iye