The 15-year-old Indian prodigy enjoyed a remarkable campaign, finishing as the IPL’s leading run-scorer with 776 runs in 16 innings at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 237.50.
Pretorius had a close-up view of Sooryavanshi’s exploits throughout the tournament and admitted he was blown away by what he witnessed.
“It’s crazy, to be honest,” Pretorius told News24. “You don’t really want to watch him too much because he makes you look old. But yeah, he’s sweet too.”
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The 20-year-old said Sooryavanshi’s approach to batting was refreshingly simple.
“You just ask him what his mentality is and he just tells you to hit the ball for six, which he basically does. “We’ve just said we’ve never seen someone consistently hit sixes like he does.”
“I don’t know what to say differently about him,” he added. “I think everyone on social media, everyone who watches cricket, has said something about him.
“There’s not much to say about him besides that he’s beyond special.”
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While Pretorius played only two IPL matches this season, scoring nought and seven, he insists the experience was invaluable.
“When you’re among big names like that, you’ll have yourself to blame if you don’t come back a better player regardless if you play or not,” he said.
“I went there with the mindset that I want to get better as a player and I feel like I’ve done that. It was very good for me.”
Photo: BCCI
