Jaipur, May 8
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have picked Nandre Burger as an injury replacement for Sandeep Sharma for the remainder of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the franchise announced on Thursday.
The left-arm South African pacer Burge, who has previously played for RR in the IPL 2024 and picked seven wickets from six games, joined RR for Rs 3.5 crore.
Sandeep, who played 10 matches for RR this season, has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament after suffering a fracture in his finger.
Sandeep suffered the injury during RR’s clash against Gujarat Titans (GT), which they won by eight wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium last month. Despite picking up the injury, the pacer completed his four-over spell, with his figures being 1-33. He also had the best economy rate for any RR bowler that day - 8.25 - while also picking the wicket of all-rounder Washington Sundar.
“He showed immense bravery to continue bowling with this injury in the last match, and everyone at the franchise wishes him a full and speedy recovery,” the franchise had said.
In 10 games, Sandeep, who was retained by the franchise last year for Rs 4 crore, picked nine wickets at an average of 40.11 and an economy rate of 9.89, with his primary responsibilities being bowling in the middle and death overs.
Earlier in the day, RR signed South African left-handed batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius as a replacement for Nitish Rana, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2025 season due to a calf injury.