Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals are all set to rope in South African batter Rassie van der Dussen as a replacement of Ben Stokes. The ace all-rounder sustained a broken finger in their season opener against Punjab Kings and was subsequently ruled out of the entire competition.
Incidentally, Stokes suffered the finger injury when he dived to take Chris Gayle’s catch in Royal’s 4-run loss to Punjab Kings. However, Stokes battled pain and walked out to bat in their chase of 222 runs. Stokes departed for 0 after being caught and bowled by Mohammed Shami. The ace English all-rounder underwent surgery and will require at least 12 weeks to return to action.
Rajasthan Royals set to sign Rassie van der Dussen
According to a report by Netwerk24, Rassie van der Dussen has received a call-up from the Royals pending a fitness test. It’s said that this fitness test could take place on Monday, and Van der Dussen should then officially link up with the Royals soon after should all go well. He will join fellow Proteas cricketers David Miller and Chris Morris in the squad.
As far as Rassie van der Dussen is concerned, the right-handed batter is in great form at the moment. He was the only batsman who carried South Africa’s batting in the recent ODI and T20I series against Pakistan. He scored 183 runs in two ODIs including a century before amassing 86 runs in a couple of T20 Internationals at an amazing strike rate of 153.57.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals have been dealt with a couple of more blows. The Barbados-born fast bowler Jofra Archer is out of action with an elbow injury. His return date is not yet known. On the other hand, Liam Livingstone has pulled himself out of the tournament citing bubble fatigue.
Rajasthan Royals are currently toiling at the last spot in the points table with one win from four outings.