Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered further misfortune as Nitish Rana is out for the remainder of IPL 2025 through a calf injury. The official IPL website confirmed the news, revealing South African youngster Lhuan-dre Pretorius as Rana's replacement. RR have been eliminated from playoff contention and has already sustained multiple blows this season. Captain Sanju Samson missed most of the season and Sandeep Sharma was ruled out well before that. Rana is the last of the unfortunate lot who last played for RR in a match against KKR. To bridge the void, RR have included one more strong left-handed opener to their roster. They already have Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryvanshi, and by adding Pretorius, they are looking to solidfiy the top order. This is familiar territory for the young cricketer, as he has played for Paarl Royals in SA20. Pretorius attracted attention in the 2025 SA20 league. He finished as the league's leading run-scorer (397 runs at a strike-rate of 166.81) in his first franchise tournament. His fearless batting and clean ball-striking made him a crowd favourite. One of his most unforgettable moments came against Trent Boult when he hit an impressive six after showcasing some excellent wrist work. That moment is still fresh in the minds of several people right now. As Rana recovers, IPL 2025 continues to see changes across squads. Just yesterday, RCB signed Mayank Agarwal to replace Devdutt Padikkal, and Delhi Capitals signed Sediqullah Atal to replace Harry Brook. Lhuan-dre Pretorius SA20 2025 Stats: Runs: 397 Innings: 12 Average: 33.08 Strike Rate: 166.81 🚨 LHUAN DRE-PRETORIUS REPLACES NITISH RANA IN RR FOR IPL 2025. 🚨pic.twitter.com/S4WmYsvUbI — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 8, 2025