New Delhi [India], August 6 : With no Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, or Reeza Hendricks in the mix, South Africa are bracing for a fresh start at its top order in T20Is. While there's been no official word on de Kock's T20I retirement and no confirmation on the future of Hendricks or Bavuma, it's clear the team is preparing for a transition and leading that change could be Ryan Rickelton and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Interestingly, both Rickelton and Pretorius are left-handed wicketkeepers. Rickelton had a breakout season in Tests and ODIs for South Africa and featured in his first Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year.
"I'm still trying to establish myself in the T20 side but I don't think there'll be any expectation for me to change anything that I've been doing in these last two years," Rickelton said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"It's just an opportunity for me to hopefully claim that opening spot for this South African side, going into the World Cup and further on past that," he added.
South Africa are scheduled to play three T20Is against Australia from August 10, with regular captain Aiden Markram returning to strengthen the top order, alongside the experienced Rassie van der Dussen in the middle. Rickelton believes their presence will give him the freedom to go out and express himself.
"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," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"I am always looking to land that first punch and get the side off to a good start no matter who's alongside me at the top," he noted.
He, along with Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, and Kagiso Rabada, was rested during the recent tri-series in Zimbabwe, but that break is over, and the team now enters a gruelling eight-month stretch of cricket that includes tours, World Cups, and franchise leagues.
The road ahead is intense, with South Africa heading to Australia first, followed by a white-ball series in England, and then the start of their World Test Championship (WTC) title defence in Pakistan. That will be followed by a full tour of India, the SA20, a short home series against the West Indies, and finally, the T20 World Cup. After that, many of these players will head straight into the IPL, stretching their schedule to nearly 10 continuous months of cricket.
For Rickelton, who opted out of playing in the Major League Cricket (MLC) this year, it's already a lesson in managing workload and staying fit through a packed season.
"This was my first IPL year and it's long three months in India which can really stretch you, mentally more than anything," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"I would still like to play leagues when the opportunity comes along and next year there's a break after the IPL so there's some space in between," he added.
"Once you get to the groove of playing a lot of cricket, it can be really nice when you're playing quite well but it can also be quite dark if you're not playing too well. It's more trying to manage the space mentally. That's probably the balance that I'm trying to walk at the moment," he noted.
Since being part of South Africa's WTC final-winning squad at Lord's in June, Rickelton has enjoyed a rare six-week break. In contrast, Pretorius has had a busy time, he made his Test debut against Zimbabwe and scored a century, while also being shuffled up and down the T20I batting order, from opener to No. 5 and back.
"I haven't been hitting the ball too well these last couple of days but I'm not too worried. We've played a lot of cricket this year already and it's not something that you just lose full stop. It will take a few more sessions for me to get going," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"But I'm watching the rest of the guys, they're really hitting the ball quite nicely and you can see the guys that have been playing are moving a lot better than a few of the guys that have taken a little bit of time off," he added.
That rest period is officially over now. South Africa kick off a crucial phase under head coach Shukri Conrad, with two ICC tournaments and a new World Test Championship cycle on the horizon.
"If you look at the fixtures lined up for the T20 World Cup, we've got some big competition and some big rivals," Rickelton said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"If we can put a good foot forward and play quite well and match what we want to try and replicate in a few months' time, especially against quality opposition, that's really important to the team and the individuals as well. We spoke about it as a group, we have an opportunity to try and win a series in Australia, which doesn't come around that often, and we're looking forward to obviously cementing our own places and playing well for South Africa," he noted.
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