Young South African batter Ryan Rickelton is eager to solidify his place in the national T20I setup as an opener ahead of the three-match series against Australia. While he admits he hasn’t secured a permanent position yet, Rickelton sees the upcoming games as a golden opportunity to impress the selectors and become a regular feature in the squad.
With the T20 World Cup 2026 on the horizon, to be hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka, Rickelton is hoping his consistent performances and attacking style at the top will make a lasting impact. Importantly, he’s not looking to change his aggressive approach.
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻20𝑰 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝑹𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑬𝑺𝑷𝑵𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐, 𝒔𝒐 𝑰’𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅.”
Rickelton Talks Form Ahead of T20I Series
Ahead of the opening match on Sunday, August 10, Rickelton acknowledged that he’s not in top touch with the bat yet but remains confident that things will fall into place with more practice. He emphasised that match rhythm often takes a few sessions to return fully, especially after a break.
“𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰’𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅,” 𝑹𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
He also praised his teammates’ preparation, noting that players who have been active recently are already looking sharp and well-settled at the crease.
The first T20I will also likely see Lhuan-dre Pretorius partnering Rickelton at the top of the order as South Africa looks to finalise their ideal combination ahead of the global event.
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