Rajasthan Royals are casting an eye into the future with young Lhuan-dre Pretorius set for debut at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Facing fellow strugglers CSK in their last league match of the season, captain Sanju Samson named the South African on the bench while bowling first. The 19-year-old has played for Rajasthan’s sister franchise in SA20, opening the batting for Paarl Royals.
RR’s bowling-first XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7, Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Kwena Mphaka, 9 Yudhvir Singh, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Akash Madhwal
RR’s Impact Player options: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Rathore.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius makes Rajasthan Royals debut
Pretorius came into the IPL 2025 as a replacement for Nitish Rana, who was ruled out of the tournament with an injury. The 19-year-old did not immediately feature, and then the tournament was halted. With the CSK vs RR game being the last game for the visitors, Sanju Samson has handed the teenager chance to make an impact.
Sanju just named 3 overseas players in the starting XI, with Pretorius among the substitutes. Kunal Singh Rathore and Shubham Dubey are also options to come in, but RR will be keen to test the South African out at Delhi. In the SA20, Pretorius opened for the Paarl Royals, scoring 397 runs in 12 games, striking at 166.80.
However, where the 19-year-old features in the batting XI remains to be seen. Royals have nailed down on Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavashi as the opening partnership. Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag are also settled in as No.3 and No.4. Pretorius bats in the middle order in first-class cricket, scoring a century at No.5 in his last appearance for the Titans. He is likely to play there, with Dhruv Jurel for company.
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