"Need to lean more on my IPL experience": Ryan Rickelton ahead of T20 World Cup

Cape Town [South Africa], January 27 (ANI): South Africa batter Ryan Rickelton, who has recieved T20 World Cup 2026 call, has said that he wants to lean a little bit more on his Indian Premier League (IPL) experience.
On January 22, Cricket South Africa added Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs to the T20 World Cup squad in place of injured Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira.
The 29-year-old Rickelton made his T20I debut against the West Indies in May 2024. Since then, the left-handed batter has scored 381 runs in 18 matches, including two-half centuries.
Rickelton was also part of South Africa's T20 World Cup 2024 squad, which went into the final before losing to India at Barbados.
He made his IPL debut in the 2025 edition. Representing the five-time champions Mumbai Indians, Rickelton amassed 388 runs in 14 games, including three half-centuries.
Ahead of the upcoming ICC tournament, Rickelton said that he needs to think about his approach in the subcontinent, where he has two ducks from two ODIs in India but scored a century in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
"I probably need to lean a little bit more on my IPL experience. It was one-day cricket where I was struggling. I suppose I got a bit of experience with the IPL, with the pressure, I'm quite familiar with the ground and probably a lot of the players I'm going to come up against," Rickelton said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"At ICC events, everything ramps up. Especially in India, where cricket is a religion. The intensity with which the game is played goes through the roof. Everyone gets up for it, no matter what physical or mental state you're in....and every game is a big game," he added. (ANI)