Lhuan-dre Pretorius’ roller-coaster ride gets wilder with maiden IPL Rajasthan Royals call-up

South African teenage prodigy Lhuan-dre Pretorius’ amazing season has just got wilder after he was signed up to the Indian Premier League on Thursday.

The 19-year-old was called up by the Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for Nitish Rana, who will miss the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 due to injury. 

Pretorius has taken the cricketing world by storm over the last 12 months, particularly during his debut season in the Betway SA20, where he emerged as the tournament’s leading run-scorer in Season 3. 

The young Paarl Royals batter amassed an impressive 397 runs at a breath-taking strike rate of over 166.81. His performance included four half-centuries, with an outstanding top score of 97 on debut.

“It’s a real dream come true. I’m just trying to be like a sponge and soaking everything in,” Pretorius said at the time.

The rookie cricketer first gained attention at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, where he also finished as the highest run-scorer for the host nation last year.

He has since transferred his short-format form to the longer versions of the game, where he has struck centuries in both List A and first-class cricket for the Titans. 

Pretorius showed that he has the temperament to perform under severe pressure too with a superb 114 to save the Titans from defeat in the CSA domestic first-class final at the Wanderers. 

These performances led to Pretorius also earning a maiden call-up to the South Africa ‘A’ side for the upcoming tour to the West Indies, starting on May 21 and continuing until June 11. 

The tour will feature three 50-over matches and two four-day fixtures, and are all scheduled to take place at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia.

Pretorius will still form part of the 16-player squad as the Royals, who have already been eliminated from the IPL knockout stages, play their last round-robin fixture on Friday, May 16. 

The youngster has also signed a deal with Hampshire in England’s T20 Blast, and will join up with the Hawks after the completion of the Windies tour.

Meanwhile, AFP reports that an IPL cricket match on Sunday between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings has been moved to Gujarat, local media reported on Thursday, quoting the state’s cricket authorities.

The match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed in the wake of violence between India and neighbouring Pakistan.

But Thursday evening’s match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, which is also set to take place in Dharamsala, will proceed as planned, as will all other games in coming days.

Sunday’s match will now be played in the city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, the state’s cricket association secretary Anil Patel told the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday.

Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighbouring Pakistan.

The strikes on Wednesday came two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir – a charge Pakistan denies.