Ryan Rickelton geared up for SA20 after successful Test stint

South Africa's Ryan Rickelton has emerged as one of the rising stars after his impressive outing in the wicketkeeper-batter's short career in the international arena so far. The 28-year-old is coming on the back of a brilliant double century against Pakistan in the second Test of the recently-concluded series. The knock of 259 against the Shan Masood-led side got him to the joint-seventh highest individual score for South Africa in red-ball cricket, sharing the tally alongside former legendary opener Graeme Smith.

The southpaw will be seen next in the 2025 edition of the SA20 League, which will see some domestic as well as international stars battle it out for the silverware, starting Thursday, January 09. Ahead of the competition, Rickelton opened up on his ambitions to keep performing, at whatever level of cricket he plays - domestic or international.

“There are going to be some shifts in the group. We've got a lot of experienced players, and with Rob as the leader, there will be opportunities coming my way. My goal is to cement a spot in the team and, hopefully, get back into the Test side. I'd also like to participate in more leagues in the year to come," said Rickelton as quoted by The Times of India.

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Rickelton’s SA20 over the years

The Transvaal-born has represented MI Cape Town in both the editions of the SA20 League so far, scoring 676 runs at an impressive average of 42.25, striking at a staggering 155.76 with five half-centuries. It is noteworthy to mention that Rickelton could only score 146 runs in the seven matches he played in the first season. The wicketkeeper-batter averaged just 20.86 and was striking at only 113.18 in the 2022 edition.

However, he returned to his best with the 2023 season, emerging as the highest run-getter in the tournament with 530 runs in 11 matches. He had a phenomenal average of 58.88 and a strike rate of 173.77 in the entire season with five 50+ scores with the highest score of 98, which came against Joburg Super Kings.