’It’s been a long time coming’, says Rassie van der Dussen on his opportunity to play in the IPL

Johannesburg - Like his journey into international cricket, the road to the Indian Premier League was a long one for Rassie van der Dussen.

The 33-year-old right- hander was picked up late in the extended IPL draft at the weekend by the Rajasthan Royals, for R2-million.

“I’ve been a Rajasthan fan since the early days when Graeme Smith and those guys played there,” Van der Dussen said from Christchurch on Wednesday. Smith, was part of the Royals team that, captained by Shane Warne, caused a shock in the inaugural IPL in 2008 and won the tournament. “There are world class players there, and it will be an honour to play with those guys.”

Among the big names at the Royals this year are the renowned Indian off-spinner Ravichandaran Ashwin, big hitting England wicket-keeper/batter Jos Buttler and New Zealand trio Trent Boult, Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham.

Van der Dussen would have been in the Royals team last year as a replacement for Ben Stokes, but was unable to obtain a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from Cricket SA. He was also due to play in the Caribbean Premier League for the St Kitts and Nevis franchise, but couldn't obtain a visa because of travel restrictions related to the Covid pandemic.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Van der Dussen said of his opportunity to play in the most lucrative cricket competition in the world. “Early on in my career I was an opener and then moved to the middle order and I had to adjust my game. I feel that at this stage of my career I have all those aspects covered in terms of batting anywhere from 1 to 5. Playing in different conditions in the last few years has helped, I feel I’ve adapted well and that is key for a batter to adapt, and have a particular set of skills for all aspects,