Rilee Rossouw Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Rilee Rossouw is a South African professional cricketer who has represented his country in the shorter formats of the sport (ODIs and T20Is), as a top-order batter. In the South African domestic circuit, he has played for Free State (2007-08–2012-13, 2021-22–Present) and Knights (2007-08–2016-17) across all 3 formats. A destructive top-order batter, he has been featured in franchise-based T20 leagues around the world, turning out for Basnahira Cricket Dundee (2012) in the SLPL (Sri Lanka Premier League); Royal Challengers Bangalore (2011, 2014–2015) in the IPL (Indian Premier League); Quetta Gladiators (2017–2019) and Multan Sultans (2020–Present) in the PSL (Pakistan Super League); Khulna Titans (2017), Rangpur Riders (2019), and Khulna Tigers (earlier known as Khulna Titans) (2019-20) in the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League); Tshwane Spartans (2018) in the MSL (Mzansi Super League); and Melbourne Renegades (2020-21) in the BBL (Big Bash League).

Born Name

Rilee Roscoe Rossouw

Nick Name

Rilee

Sun Sign

Libra

Born Place

Bloemfontein, Free State Province, South Africa

Residence

South Africa

Nationality

Education

Rilee had attended Grey College, a semi-private English & Afrikaans medium school for boys, located in the suburb of Universitas in his hometown of Bloemfontein.

Occupation

Professional Cricketer

Batting

Left-Handed

Bowling

Right-Arm Off Break

Role

Top-Order Batter

Jersey Number

• 27 – One Day International (ODI), Rangpur Riders (BPL)
• 27, 32 – T20 International (T20I)
• 30 – Hampshire County Cricket Club (English Domestic Cricket)
• 4 – Somerset County Cricket Club (English Domestic Cricket), Quetta Gladiators (PSL)
• 2, 23 – Multan Sultans (PSL)

Build

Athletic

Height

6 ft or 183 cm

Weight

78 kg or 172 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Rilee has dated –

1. Marike Jana (2011-Present) – Rilee married his long-term girlfriend Marike Jana in June 2011 and they have 2 children together.

Race / Ethnicity

White

Hair Color

Dark Brown

Eye Color

Green

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Toned physique
• Short-cropped, side-parted hair
• Affable smile
• Often sports a light stubble or a thin beard

Religion

Christianity

Rilee Rossouw Facts

1. Rilee first came into the spotlight during the 2008-09 season of domestic cricket in South Africa when he was his team’s leading run-scorer in the SuperSport Series (the premier domestic first-class cricket competition in the country), with 765 runs including 3 centuries.
2. He was an integral member of the South African squad that had reached the final of the 2008 Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup. He had scored 136 runs, including 2 half-centuries, in the tournament.
3. He followed this up with a massive haul of 1,261 runs in the 2009-10 season. This included a score of 319 runs (off 291 balls) which was the then-fastest triple century in the history of South African domestic cricket. While compiling that score, he was involved in a 2nd-wicket partnership of 480 runs with Dean Elgar. It was the then-largest partnership in South African domestic cricket, for any wicket.
4. On his T20I debut for South Africa, in a match against Australia, in November 2014, he smashed 78 runs off just 50 balls to help South Africa win the match by 7 wickets. This was South Africa’s first win in Australia in the T20I format. Rilee was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his performance.
5. Thereafter, he was a regular feature in the country’s ODIs and T20I squads until 2016. However, just as his star was rising in international cricket, he signed a ‘Kolpak’ deal with Hampshire County Cricket Club in January 2017. This made him ineligible to represent South Africa in international cricket until the deal expired.
6. The ‘Kolpak’ ruling is a landmark judgment of the European Court of Justice that was handed down in May 2003 in favor of Maroš Kolpak, a Slovak handball player. It declared that citizens of countries that have signed ‘European Union (EU) Association Agreements‘ have the same right to freedom of work and movement within the EU as citizens of the EU.
7. This meant that any restrictions such as limits on the number of foreign players in sports teams were deemed illegal under EU law. The ruling had a wide-ranging effect on European professional sports and English county cricket saw an influx of South African players. This was partly because the much weaker currency of South Africa meant that cricketers could earn much more while playing domestic cricket in England than they would by playing international cricket for South Africa.
8. Rilee’s last act in international cricket for South Africa, before his ‘Kolpak’ deal with Hampshire County Cricket Club kicked off, was an imperious score of 122 runs in the last match of an ODI series that helped South Africa seal a rare 5-0 whitewash. This was the first time in history that Australia had lost all 5 matches of a bilateral ODI series. He was named the ‘Player of the Series’ for his performances across the 5 matches (311 runs).
   
9. In the 2018–19 season of the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League), Rilee was the leading run-scorer for Rangpur Riders, with 558 runs in 14 matches.
10. In July 2020, he was included in the St. Lucia Zouks squad that was announced for the upcoming season of the CPL (Caribbean Premier League). However, in a rather bizarre incident, he was one of five South African cricketers who were forced to miss the tournament after they failed to confirm their travel arrangements in due time. The mess was in part due to the global travel restrictions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
11. When the UK withdrew from the EU in 2020 (the event popularly known as ‘Brexit’), the aforementioned ‘Kolpak’ ruling ceased to have any effect on sports leagues in the UK. This forced several cricketers, mostly South Africans, to return to their homelands and seek re-integration with the domestic cricket scene there.
12. Rilee, too, was among them and was welcomed back warmly by Cricket South Africa, the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. He eventually made a return to international cricket in July 2022. In October 2022, he made his maiden century in the T20I format, in a bilateral away match against India.
13. Later that month, he repeated the feat in a match against Bangladesh, during the 2022 edition of the ICC World T20. This made him just the 17th male player in history to have scored multiple hundreds in the T20I format.
14. He has played for Oval Invincibles (2022) in The Hundred, a professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament that was introduced by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) as a new format of cricket that was played for the first time in July and August 2021. That year, he also represented Somerset County Cricket Club (2022) in England.

Featured Image by Rilee Rossouw / Instagram