Finding his lane again: Dwaine Pretorius beyond the IPL and Proteas

Dwaine Pretorius last played in the IPL on April 8, 2023. His final international appearance for South Africa was a few months before that, in October 2022. January 2022 was the last he played a first-class game while his last List A game came in December 2022. For many, those markers might have signalled a winding down. For Pretorius, they have instead framed a phase defined by clarity, role definition and sustained returns across the global T20 circuit.

"I view it as very, very exciting," Pretorius says of where he currently stands, in a chat with Cricbuzz on the sidelines of ILT20 2025. "I think at the moment, I understand my game probably the best that I ever had. I'm enjoying every opportunity that I get to play for different teams. I'm enjoying travelling the world. It's really cool. I'm enjoying it a lot."

That contentment is rooted in perspective, shaped significantly by his years in the South Africa set-up. Pretorius made his international debut relatively late, but quickly carved out a niche as a reliable seam-bowling all-rounder across formats. He was trusted with new-ball spells in limited-overs cricket, used through the middle overs when control was needed, and valued for his ability to strike late with the bat.

Across his international career, Pretorius featured in World Cups, toured extensively, and became a dependable option in South Africa's white-ball squads during a period of transition. He was not always the headline act, but he was often the glue, someone captains leaned on for balance. That grounding, he feels, has allowed him to step into franchise environments with assurance rather than insecurity.

"I'm really proud of what I achieved for South Africa," he says. "Playing for the Proteas has always been a lifelong dream. But I'm also enjoying what I'm doing now massively."

Since stepping away from international cricket and moving on from the IPL - he was part of the IPL 2026 auction register but had no takers - Pretorius has remained deeply embedded in elite T20 competitions. The numbers underline that continuity.

Across his overall T20 career from 2010 to 2025, Pretorius has played 273 matches, scoring 3097 runs at an average of 20.24 and taking 251 wickets at 24.34. In the period since he last played the IPL, from 2023 onwards, he has featured in 76 matches, collecting 99 wickets at a significantly improved bowling average of 20.23, while maintaining a near-identical batting average of 20.08.

It is a telling shift. His role with the bat has remained that of a finisher rather than a volume scorer, but his bowling has become even more incisive. The post-IPL phase has seen him deployed with greater precision, often with clearly defined match-ups and overs, a reflection of both team trust and self-awareness.

Pretorius, however, is careful not to frame his journey as a rejection of the IPL or international cricket. The Caribbean has been a particularly strong chapter in his latest phase, while the SA20 has offered familiarity and competitiveness in equal measure. And in the UAE, the ILT20 has added another layer to his franchise education.

"IPL is only one tournament, right? It's obviously the biggest tournament currently," he says. "But I've enjoyed all the tournaments that I've played in. I've been really successful in the CPL and really been a part of the Guyana family there. The Guyana Amazon Warriors have really looked after me really well. I love playing for them. SA20 is also a really nice competition to be a part of.

"This is my first ILT20 that I'm a part of. It's a really good competition. The quality that you face here is also really good. I'm a competitor, so I try and add some value wherever I go. I'm really enjoying the current franchise environment. There's a lot of opportunities for different players, so it's a lot of fun," he adds.

That sense of value has been shaped by hard-earned lessons from Pretorius's early years in the Proteas set-up, a period where clearly defined roles initially played to his strengths, but rising expectations gradually brought added noise. "When you're younger and you're coming up, you try and do everything and you try and please everyone, and sometimes to a player's detriment, I think," he reflects.

There is, he believes, a danger in chasing completeness too early. "I think at the end of the day, there's a very fine line between trying to be good at everything. I think sometimes that leads to more of an average skill set."

Pretorius recognises that his most effective contributions for South Africa came when his role was uncomplicated and aligned with his natural strengths. "When I started off my career, I was very much in the mould of what I'm doing now. Finishing off innings is strong, coming back in the back end, striking at a higher strike rate, and trying to give some momentum to the teams leading into the next innings or finishing off games is quite strong."

But with experience came advice from all quarters, not all of it helpful. "Then obviously, as you're young, you're a bit inexperienced. People start telling you, you need to work on this part of the game, you need to start working on this part of the game, and then we start spending a lot of energy in working on those little things. What happens, or what I felt, is you then start losing your X-factor and what makes you special."

But over the last two to three years, that clarity has returned. "I've moved away from trying to be good at everything, but rather master something and really be good at two or three skill sets. That is something that I feel I've done over the last two or three years.

"I've been really specific in my preparation, gone away from massively long batting net sessions to being very ultra-specific and much shorter in my batting sessions, and much more targeted to the role that I will play in the game."

For Pretorius, the aim now is simple. "I don't want to be average at everything, I want to be really good at one or two things. That is what I'm trying to do at the moment."

It is a philosophy shaped by international cricket, refined by the IPL, and sustained across leagues worldwide. "Going to different teams, getting to know new players, getting to know new coaches. It's a lot of fun. Currently, I'm having a lot of fun with what I'm doing. It's really cool coming into a new environment and then having to earn your keep, if you want to call it that. It's really, really cool."