Proteas rookie Lhuan-dre Pretorius isn’t concerned about Australian sledging ahead of the T20I series, which starts in Darwin on Sunday.
The 19-year-old left-hander is touring with the full-strength Proteas squad for the first time and sees the experience as a valuable learning opportunity.
“With the likes of KG [Kagiso Rabada], Temba [Bavuma], Aiden [Markram], [Ryan] Rickelton – all of those guys – I’m just super excited to learn and see how they play the game, how they see the game, how they speak,” Pretorius told SportsBoom.co.za. “You can take a little bit from each player and build your own legacy.”
Pretorius has enjoyed a meteoric rise in South African cricket, dominating the domestic scene since leaving school. He made his Test and T20I debuts in Zimbabwe last month, scoring a century in his first Test and a fifty in the shortest format.
His performances earned him the CSA 4-Day Series Player of the Year award and a call-up to South Africa’s squad for three T20Is and three ODIs in Australia.
RICKELTON: I won’t change my game
Touring Down Under comes with unique challenges – both from the Australian players and their vocal supporters – but Pretorius is unfazed by the prospect of on-field sledging.
“The on-field chirping does get me going,” he said. “I enjoy that quite a bit because it keeps me in the fight and gives me another reason not to give my wicket away.
“The media and the stuff that happens off the field, I don’t really care about. At the end of the day, it’s bat against ball. You do your thing – there’s a reason you’re playing there, and there’s a reason you got there.”
ALSO: Brevis silences the noise
Proteas T20I squad: Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, Rassie van der Dussen.
T20I series fixtures (SA times):
Sunday, 10 August (11:15): 1st T20I, Darwin
Tuesday, 12 August, (11:15): 2nd T20I, Darwin
Saturday, 16 August (11:15): 3rd T20I, Cairns
Photo: Zimbabwe Cricket
