Reports: Rassie van der Dussen likely to join Rajasthan Royals for the rest of IPL 2021

Rajasthan Royals (RR) are already in trouble in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). They have lost three out of four matches and languishing at the bottom of the points table. To make things worse, their overseas recruits Ben Stokes and Liam Livingstone have been ruled out of the tournament for different reasons while there is no clarity over Jofra Archer’s availability as he underwent surgery just before the competition started.

The franchise is looking for a valid replacement for all these players but they are yet to zero in on any specific cricketer. But if the reports are to be believed, South Africa batsman Rassie van der Dussen is likely to join the Royals for the rest of the IPL season.

According to the reports in Netwerk24 Sport, Rajasthan Royals have put in a request for Van der Dussen to play and the cricketer is supposed to only pass the fitness test to confirm his availability. However, nothing is confirmed yet it seems and RR might release a statement once things materialise between two parties.

Rassie van der Dussen is in great form at the moment

As far as Rassie van der Dussen is concerned, the cricketer 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.

But he has been constantly getting injured in recent times. For the same reason, he didn’t play in the third ODI and the first two T20Is of the Pakistan series. It seems that the fitness test is also for a similar injury. Having said that, the 32-year-old will be a great addition for the Royals who are struggling for consistency this season. In 20 T20Is that he has played, Rassie has scored 628 runs at a strike-rate of around 138.

The Royals are next scheduled to play against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium. It will take a couple of weeks for the South African to join the team even if he is signed as replacement given the current quarantine rules due to COVID-19.