Nitish Rana ruled out of IPL 2025, Rajasthan Royals find replacement from South Africa

Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday named South African batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius as a replacement for the injured Nitish Rana for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The announcement came via an IPL media statement, as the team continues to languish near the bottom of the table with just three wins and nine losses from 12 matches. With only six points, they are now officially out of contention for a place in the playoffs.

"Rajasthan Royals (RR) have named Lhuan-dre Pretorius as a replacement for Nitish Rana, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 due to injury," read the IPL statement.

Also Read: RCB's Devdutt Padikkal ruled out of IPL 2025; local boy Mayank Agarwal joins squad


Pretorius will join the Royals for his base price of Rs 30 lakh.

Rana featured in 11 matches for RR this season, scoring 217 runs at an average of 21.70 and a strike rate of nearly 162. His campaign included two half-centuries, with a highest score of 81 coming against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Pretorius has played 33 T20 matches so far, in which he has scored 911 runs at an average of 27.60. His strike rate stands at 147.17, and he has hit six half-centuries, with his best score being 97. The right-handed batter rose to prominence at the ICC Under-19 World Cup last year, where he top-scored for South Africa with 287 runs from six matches. His average was 57.40 and his strike rate 94.09, including three fifties and a highest score of 76.

Also Read: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre turn IPL into sparkling Indian Kids' League

Pretorius is also no stranger to the Royals setup. He plays for their sister franchise Paarl Royals in South Africa’s SA20 league. In the 2025 season of the tournament, he finished as the team’s top run-scorer with 397 runs from 12 matches. He averaged 33.08 and had an impressive strike rate of 166.80. He also registered three half-centuries, with 97 being his best effort.

Rajasthan Royals’ next fixture is scheduled for May 12 against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk Stadium.