Add to it, the solid left-handed wicketkeeper-batter recently landed a deal with Hampshire for this year\u2019s T20 Blast. Despite not having earned a senior South Africa team call-up yet, former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik predicts Pretorius\u2019s inclusion in the IPL wouldn\u2019t be surprising, based on his close observation as his teammate at Paarl Royals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Karthik, who became the first Indian player to feature in SA20, also had a close look at young pacer Kwena Maphaka, whose career has skyrocketed in the last 12 months. Teenaged fast bowler Maphaka\u2019s meteoric rise includes winning Player of the Tournament in the Under-19 World Cup, signing with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and debuting for the senior South African team across all three formats.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He will be a traveling reserve for South Africa\u2019s Champions Trophy team, and then return to the IPL 2025 from March 22 for the Rajasthan Royals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBoth are good talents. Lhuan-dre, obviously, was the highest run-getter in the league and to do that as a youngster in year one is never easy. So it tells you a lot about his talent. They all will have a very bright future.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI hope they don\u2019t get pressurized too much. They genuinely are match winners. Kwena bowls a quick ball and he\u2019s someone when he gets it right, it\u2019s hard to play. Lhuan-dre, on the other hand, has all the shots you require in the book, a very good mindset. As he plays more competitive cricket, there are going to be challenges, but he\u2019s got the skill to definitely conquer all those challenges.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI wish them all the very best because I feel the next 12 months, if I do go back, they\u2019re going to be very different cricketers, very confident and one that\u2019s going to definitely have gotten better. So it\u2019s going to be a great journey. As soon as the SA20 finished, I saw Lhuan-dre, he\u2019s been picked for Hampshire for their NatWest (T20) Blast (games).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo it tells you that everybody\u2019s watching (him) in the world. Today, every tournament that you play, you have scouts watching. So you get picked up in various places. I won\u2019t be surprised in the near future if Lhuan-dre finds a place in IPL as well,\u201d said Karthik to IANS in a select virtual interaction on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While Paarl didn\u2019t win, Maphaka and Pretorius gained immensely from Karthik\u2019s experience, learning to combine their youthful enthusiasm with his words of wisdom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Karthik, set to assume the role of batting coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2025, derived considerable satisfaction from mentoring young players in the high-velocity world of T20 cricket in South Africa.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cA lot of the times, post the games, we always have had this group get-together. You end up talking to a lot of young boys and they all have their own pressures. For example, during the tournament, just after the first game, Lhuan-dre and Kwena Maphaka passed their 12th exams. So that was a big deal for them. That\u2019s where they are. That\u2019s how young they are.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo the way they look at the sport, and its challenges is very different. Like, speaking to them, interacting with them, and making them understand at times it\u2019s not that important to keep focusing on something, whereas you can relax a lot more and be chilled away from the game.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI just inculcated (in them) a little bit of what I have learned during my time of playing the sport. So it was a good experience. As I said, I believe passing on your knowledge, slash sharing your knowledge is one of the most important aspects. Being a sportsman, and being someone who is old enough to help a lot of young boys, I enjoyed that part as well,\u201d he elaborated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
At Paarl\u2019s Boland Park, Karthik not only appreciated the scenic views but also saw the franchise become the first team to bowl a full 20-over innings by using only spinners against the Pretoria Capitals. Will this proactive bowling strategy become a trend in other T20 franchise leagues, including the IPL?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While Karthik sounded upbeat by drawing parallels between conditions in Paarl and Tamil Nadu, he noted that the success of this strategy hinges on the strong support from the pitch to spinners.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cMore than other leagues like the IPL, I think it\u2019s got to do with the pitches. In Paarl, it was actually like playing for Tamil Nadu. We focused a lot more on spinners. We had a lot more spinners in the team, and the pitches also aided spinners. That\u2019s why we bowled 20 overs of spin and we were very successful in that game.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure in the near future, if there are grounds which are aiding spin and they won\u2019t think twice to bowl 20 overs of spin or probably at least 16 overs of spin. If the pitch is slow, it\u2019s going to turn and it\u2019s harder to hit (against) spinners than fast bowlers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Nineteen years ago, a young Dinesh Karthik played his first T20I in South Africa in 2006, a time when T20 was the novel concept. A year later, Karthik was a member of theT20 World Cup winning team in South Africa, a moment which was the seed of IPL becoming the behemoth it is now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure in the near future, if there are grounds which are aiding spin and they won\u2019t think twice to bowl 20 overs of spin or probably at least 16 overs of spin. If the pitch is slow, it\u2019s going to turn and it\u2019s harder to hit (against) spinners than fast bowlers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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