Rilee Rossouw praises Reeza Hendricks's growth: He's a world-class player

Proteas limited over batter Rilee Rossouw praised former provincial teammate Reeza Hendricks, saying the opener is a world-class player.

The Proteas' T20 World Cup warm-up game against Bangladesh on Wednesday was washed out, but Rossouw had opened the batting with his former Knights teammate in the nine-wicket win against New Zealand.

Hendricks had unwittingly found himself at the centre of a selection storm where he didn't play in the T20 series against India despite being in red-hot form.

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Rossouw's and Hendricks's careers developed together in Bloemfontein and Kimberley, with Rossouw moving overseas on a Kolpak contract while Hendricks moved north up to Johannesburg.

Rossouw said they've grown immensely from their time at the Knights.

"Reeza and I go a long way and it’s always nice to bat with him," Rossouw said.

"He brings something special and if he gets a chance in the World Cup, I hope he'll bring his form and show what he's about.

"We're all much better players as we grow older because we've learned a lot throughout our careers, especially from each other.

"He's a world-class player."

Rossouw wasn't too fussed by the fact that they've missed out on game time on Wednesday, saying that they've got the necessary mileage to get going for the tournament.

South Africa gets their tournament underway next week Monday when they play one of the teams from the qualification round at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

Rossouw said the team is confident and is in a positive space for the tournament.

"The guys are in a great space at the moment and we're playing some really good cricket," Rossouw said.

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