Seven months in the past Kagiso Rabada was on prime of the world, having simply performed an enormous position within the Proteas’ victory over Australia within the World Test Championship remaining at Lord’s.
Before that, he had spent a month out of the sport after testing positive for cocaine, and folks had been questioning how he managed to carry out to his ordinary excessive ranges with out taking part in any cricket throughout that point. The query on everyone’s lips was, “What makes Kagiso Rabada such a great of the game?”
At the time, it was a query that made him ponder for a couple of minutes throughout a press convention after taking a five-wicket haul in the first innings. He usually solutions the media’s enquiries with confidence and in his personal laid-back method, however this one appeared to stump him.
“My attributes… pace, bounce, movement and doing that consistently,” Rabada said after a slight pause.
Star Australian batsman Steve Smith had the same response when he was quizzed about Rabada.
“He’s got good skills,” Smith mentioned. “He can shape the ball away; he can nibble it both ways. He’s relentless, he’s always at you, he’s always up for the challenge, he charges in all day. His record speaks for itself, and he showed that again today.”
Upon his return to South Africa, he was requested if he had “stewed over the question a bit more”. This time, nonetheless, his reply wasn’t of a technical nature. It wasn’t about his capability to nip the ball each methods with a wobble seam or a lethal correct bouncer. It was a few trait that makes one rise above the nice and into the echelons of the nice.
“I guess it’s about being willing to sacrifice everything to get the result that you want. It’s just determination,” he said.
Rabada has long stood as South Africa’s premier fast bowler. Yet, as the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup moved into the high-stakes Super Eight stage, the narrative surrounding the Proteas’ spearhead has shifted from awe to apprehension.
After a difficult start to the tournament, some have begun to question whether he should be dropped, especially after that final over in the match against Afghanistan, where he almost lost the game for the Proteas.
However, to doubt Rabada at this juncture is to ignore the very DNA of his career. “KG” is not merely a fast bowler; he is a big-match player who thrives when the lights are brightest and the pressure is most suffocating.
Big-match players possess a psychological resilience that allows them to compartmentalise failure. Rabada’s difficult start to this tournament is an anomaly rather than a decline. History suggests that for Rabada, a quiet group stage is often the precursor to a deafening knockout phase.
He is a rhythm bowler; as the intensity of the competition increases, his technical precision typically follows suit. In the Proteas’ hammering of India on Sunday, there were signs that it was all starting to come together. He bowled a few deliveries over the 145km/h mark, and, while he didn’t pick up any wickets, it was clear that his rhythm was starting to come back.
South Africa’s bowling attack has been fantastic at this tournament, with Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch and Keshav Maharaj stepping into the breach. But Rabada is the emotional heartbeat of the Proteas’ bowling attack and he understands the weight of expectation. Don’t be surprised if he catches fire when the heat is really on, and when his team needs him the most.
Like he said seven months ago, “it’s about being willing to sacrifice everything to get the result that you want. It’s just determination”.
Write off Kagiso Rabada in case you should. But one factor is for sure: he hasn’t written off himself.
* John Goliath is Independent Media’s Cape regional sports activities editor and a contributor on The Last Word on Rugby on our YouTube channel The Clutch.
