Rickelton won the Player of the Match for his 83 for MI against LSG.
The Mumbai Indians defeated the Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets on Monday, thanks to the second-century partnership of the season between 29-year-old Rickelton (83) and Rohit (84), which helped the club survive the competition following a turbulent run.
“I picked his brain a little bit more (in the) first year, just about batting in general. Not necessarily T20 batting (it was) more (about) Tests and 50-overs batting, and the specifics and the mentality around it.
It’s never always (a) life-changing advice that you hear. It is the stuff that you’ve heard through different paths and closures as you kind of work your way through the game. It is just more (about) how he manages pressure, how he stays calm, and how he backs his ability and understands his game really well,” Rickelton stated in the post-match press conference.
The key to their success as an opening pair, according to Rickelton, is having distinct areas to focus on and being transparent about their strategies.
“We complement each other nicely as a left-hand right-hand (combination); we score in very different areas, and we are quite clear in our methods and who we want to put pressure on,” he said.
Talking about their approach as a pair, Rickelton said, “Sometimes he gets away really quickly and takes a lot of pressure off me, and sometimes I get away quickly and take a lot of pressure off him. Coming back from five or six games out, he gave himself a few balls to just get back to batting again and his routines, and then transferred that pressure onto the bowlers. He hit some shots that I could only have in my wildest dreams.”
Rickelton further stated that the presence of Quinton de Kock has put pressure on him to perform. De Kock has already scored a century in this IPL 2026 season.
“It was tricky to manage mentally because maybe you are burning yourself with a bit more pressure to do well because you have a guy who is flipping good sitting behind you,u and the whole world is screaming to pick him. You can put yourself under a bit too much pressure. But on the flip side, I got an opportunity when he did some damage to his hand,” Rickelton added.
Rickelton, who made 83, said he got an earful from De Kock for not pulling off a hundred.
“He was the first person to absolutely abuse me tonight, saying I threw away a hundred, which I agree with him,” he added.
He was also asked about the injury that kept captain Hardik Pandya out of the LSG game.
“I do not know when he is expected to be back. I found out this afternoon that he has back spasms, so I am unaware of the extent of the injury or how bad it is, or what he is feeling. But I am sure he will be with the group as we head to Raipur this week,” he said.
(PTI inputs)