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Biography

A free-stroking left handed batsman with snappy wrists akin to the subcontinental breed, Rilee Rossouw first made his mark in the Under-19 World Cup of 2008. He did not set the tournament ablaze but provided glimpses of his blossoming potential with 136 runs in six matches, including two fifties in South Africa's run to the final.

Rossouw made his First-Class debut a few months prior to the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, top-scoring for Free State against Easterns in Bloemfontein. Catapulting his powers to an all new level, the southpaw cracked the hitherto fastest triple ton in the history of South African domestic cricket in an exhibition of enterprising batsmanship in March 2010. The purple patch got even better that season as Rossouw ended up with 1,261 runs at a stellar average of 57.61.
The young batter also created a splash in the Champions League T20 when he smashed a 19-ball 44 against T&T in 2009.

Rossouw's performances at the domestic level did not go unrewarded as he was called up to the national side in 2014. He made his ODI debut the same year against neighbours Zimbabwe and his T20I debut came a few months after against Australia.

However, like many South African players on the fringes of the national team, Rossouw decided to sign a Kolpak deal with Hampshire in 2017, a decision that drew a lot of scepticism and one that rendered him unable to turn up in national colours. Rossouw's county stint wasn't remarkable and when the United Kingdom exited the European Union, Kolpak deals came to an end and so did Rossouw's time at Hampshire. By then, however, Rossouw had transformed himself into a destructive T20 batter reputed across the globe and that paved the way for him to return to South Africa's T20I side in 2022.

His return to South African colours after a 6-year absence was a resounding success. In just his 2nd comeback innings, Rossouw struck an unbeaten 55-ball 96 against England in a T20I. It didn't take long for him to bring up his first T20I hundred as he struck 100* off just 48 deliveries against India less than a month later. A spot in South Africa's squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup was inevitable and Rossouw stamped his authority with another century, this time against Bangladesh, in his first innings of the tournament.

Rossouw was first bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011 but it wouldn't be until 2014 that he would feature in a game after he was re-enlisted by the franchise as a replacement for Nic Maddinson. Rossouw only played 2 games in that season and 3 in the following one before a long hiatus. It was only in the 2022 IPL Auction, on the back of some stellar performances in leagues like the PSL and BPL and after returning to play some match-winning knocks for his country, that he was bought by the Delhi Capitals for INR 4.6 crore.

By Deivarayan Muthu and Anurag Hegde