Biography

Accurate and consistent with the ball, this South African seam bowler once threatened to become the future star for the Proteas. Born in Potchefstroom, Juan Theron’s cricketing talents were recognized at a young age and he made his way up the ladder to success quite rapidly. Despite being nicknamed ‘Rusty’ he showed everyone that there was certainly nothing rusty about his cricket.

Known for his simplistic approach to the game and his fine ability to disguise the slower delivery, Theron built a reputation of being the perfect man to go to in the death overs. His first-class debut for Eastern Province came against KwaZulu Natal in November 2005 and he got his first break into the South Africa A squad in the year 2008. The year 2010 was a turning point in Rusty’s career as he bagged a national contract without even playing a single game for the national side and got a contract with IPL giants Kings XI Punjab. He then went onto grab 11 wickets in his first ODI series including a 5-wicket haul and an impressive performance against Pakistan in the T20I series saw him get a place in the ODI squad again.