Ryan Rickelton: Who is he? The first South African batsman and wicketkeeper to reach a century in the Champions Trophy

In the current ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Ryan Rickelton, a left-handed wicketkeeper-batter from South Africa, made news when he scored his first ODI century against Afghanistan. In their competition opener, South Africa amassed a massive 315 runs thanks in large part to his outstanding knock of 103 runs off 106 balls.

Notably, Ryan Rickelton became the first South African wicketkeeper-batter to score a century in the coveted Champions Trophy and the first South African to get a century on his debut.

Speaking about the game, in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium, the Proteas played their first match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against Afghanistan. The team captained by Temba Bavuma chose to bat first after winning the toss. But the team got off to a bad start after losing opener Tony de Zorzi for little money.

After that, Ryan Rickelton took charge and he and captain Bavuma hammered a steady innings.

Before speeding to a century in 101 deliveries, he reached his fifty in 48 balls. There were seven boundaries and one six during the innings. His partnership of 129 runs with Bavuma (58 off 76 balls) enabled the team to surpass the 300-run milestone. But once he got caught up in a strange runout, his knock ended. Aiden Markram (52 off 36) and Rassie van der Dussen (52 off 46) later assisted South Africa in reaching their second-highest total in Champions Trophy history.

Ryan Rickelton, who was born in Johannesburg on July 11, 1996, became passionate about cricket at a young age. He played with the Lions in South Africa’s domestic circuit after representing Gauteng. He made his international debut in March 2022 after being called up to the national squad for his performances in various forms.

Since then, Ryan Rickelton has established himself as a three-format performer, excelling in T20s, ODIs, and Test matches. He demonstrated his red-ball prowess in an early 2025 Test match against Pakistan, amassing an incredible 259 runs. Ten Test matches, six ODIs, and thirteen T20Is have been played by the southpaw thus far.