Lhuan-dre Pretorius, a promising 19-year-old South African cricketer, was kept informed by coach Shukri Conrad about not being selected for the Proteas T20 World Cup squad, acknowledging his future potential and celebrating teammate Kwena Maphaka’s inclusion. Picture: Carl Fourie/SA20 He may have naturally been a bit disappointed to not be selected for theT20 World Cupsquad for theProteas, butLhuan-dre Pretoriuswas not surprised as he was kept in the loop by SA coachShukri Conrad. At 19, Pretorius is a player for the future, considering he has already played in all three formats for the Proteas.
As an explosive, aggressive opener, the Southpaw is tailor-made for T20 cricket and has already made a name for himself in theSA20with his third season on the biggest already off and running. On talent alone, Pretorius could have easily been on the plane to India and Sri Lanka next month, but he knew before the squad was announced that his time had not come yet, as coach Shukri Conrad kept him in the loop. “Obviously, the messages were really clear, which is cool.
Shukri Conrad is a very honest guy. For the people that don’t know him, he is a really honest guy, and he’s really open and not scared to tell you the truth and be open with you,” Pretorius toldSportsBoom.co.za. “So yeah, it would be nice to be part of the squad, but I’m still 19 years old and I’m still very young.
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So I’m just keen to learn, excited to learn, and see where my journey takes me. Still got lots of time ahead.” Interestingly, another 19-year-old did make the Proteas squad, as left-arm quick Kwena Maphaka got the nod. Pretorius was pleased that his former Paarl Royals teammate was picked and did not seem to have a hint of jealousy.
“It’s really cool. We’re quite good mates. Unfortunately, he’s not with us at the Royals this year.
I would have loved to have him here. Really, really stoked for him. I think he deserves it.
He’s worked a lot. He’s worked very hard.”
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