Ryan Rickelton has been in fine form.
Ryan Rickelton has been in sublime form in IPL 2026. His exploits in the powerplay have ensured Mumbai Indians (MI) get terrific starts whenever he opens with Rohit Sharma. Overall, Rickelton has an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 166.66, with a boundary every 3.64 deliveries, in the first six overs.
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Ryan Rickelton has always been proficient at anything on wider or leg-stump lines, which allows him to free his arms and go over the top. However, whenever pacers have bowled in the channel on or just outside off-stump, his issues have surfaced with the new ball. Being an aggressive batter, he commits to the initial lines and plays expansive shots with a strong bottom hand.
That’s where RCB can look to trouble him again. On all 28 deliveries on these initial lines this season, Ryan Rickelton has scored at only 89.28 and been dismissed once. He plays around 64.28% dot balls and 46.42% false shots on these lines.
While all lengths have kept Rickelton quiet, RCB should still employ fuller lengths and take the ball away from these lines. That’s where chances of inducing an edge will surge. He’s mostly a leg-side-dominant player, and forcing him to play on the off-side will help, since he looks to drag everything towards the on-side.
In the first six overs this season, Ryan Rickelton has scored at a strike rate of 317.14 and hit a boundary every 1.84 deliveries on the leg side. However, his strike rate and balls-per-boundary ratio shrink to 113.46 and 5.77 on the other part of the ground. Two of his 3 dismissals have come towards the off-side.
Given his off-side issues, it’s obvious that Ryan Rickelton struggles with deliveries that swing or seam away from him. On 38 such balls inside the first six overs this season, the southpaw has averaged just 21.50 and struck at 113.16, with two outs. He has played a whopping 63.16% dot balls and 50% false shots.
That’s obviously because he doesn’t get to play such balls towards the leg-side or fails while attempting to. On all other delivery types combined, Rickelton scores at 198.43 and hits a boundary every 3.04 deliveries. So, RCB’s plan should be simple: put a deep point and possibly a deep backward square leg to curb his two most common shots: square drive, cut, pull, and flick.
For the record, the pull and flick have collectively fetched him 32.35% of total runs. Then, he also plays a lot of slogs that often go towards the leg-side. RCB can also place a deep cover and a straighter mid-off at times, should he last longer at the crease.
Josh Hazlewood has been expensive in the recent couple of matches, but has done well against LHBs in the powerplay. He has two scalps at 25.50 runs apiece and an economy rate of 7.29, producing 42.86% false shots. So, he will have the onus of bowling tight lines and removing Ryan Rickelton early again in Raipur.
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