Who Is Lhuan-Dre Pretorius? South Africa's Next Superstar

Arnav Chopra

Lhuan-dre Pretorius (Source: @ClubCricketSA/X.com)Lhuan-dre Pretorius (Source: @ClubCricketSA/X.com)

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Smashing 97 on debut is no easy feat, but for South Africa's Lhuan-dre Pretorius, it was his destiny. Making his name in the ongoing SA20 for Paarl Royals, young Pretorius is on a mission to prove himself after playing two sensational knocks within just three matches of his highlighted career.

Who is Lhuan-dre Pretorius?

Potchefstroom-born Lhuan-dre Pretorius is a left-handed wicket-keeper batter who opens the batting for his side. At the age of just 18 years, Pretorius is making heads turn in South Africa's premier T20 tournament, SA20 where he is plying his trade for Paarl Royals.

The left-hander was picked by the franchise during the rookie draft of the SA20 season 3 auction and made his debut for the Paarl-based side during their opening encounter this season against defending champions SunRisers Eastern Cape, where he gave nightmares to the bowlers by playing an unimaginable innings of 97 off just 51 balls with six maximums and ten fours.

This innings got the world to notice him, including English Test skipper Ben Stokes, who praised him on X. While his current teammate and former English captain Joe Root also didn't shy away from lauding his top-notch batting ability.

Following his superb debut, he could score 26 in the next match against MI Cape Town but then came back strongly in the reverse fixture by mustering an outstanding 83 from 52 balls consisting of eight fours and three sixes before unfortunately getting run out but still helped his side to achieve victory on their home ground.

Who Else Has Lhuan-dre Pretorius Played For?

Lhuan, in South Africa's domestic cricket plays for Titans, who recruited him after having a serious look at his talent, which was displayed at the 2024 U-19 Cricket World, where he thwacked 287 runs for South Africa U-19 from just six matches while having an average of 57.40.

This made him the sixth-highest run-getter in the global tournament overall and highest for his country, Proteas. Titans handed him his T20 debut in March last year during the CSA T20 Challenge, and then later, he went on to play First-Class cricket as well, where he smashed a blistering 120.