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 breathtaking 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 U19 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.
🇿🇦 Fearless. Power-packed. Royal!
You’ve seen him in Pink — and you’ll see him soon in IPL 2025. 🔥
Lhuan dre Pretorius steps in for Nitish Rana, who’s healing from a calf injury. Speedy recovery, Nitish bhai! 💗 pic.twitter.com/B2JzFUlKZo
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 8, 2025
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 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, 16 May.
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.
