“The past season was a disappointment, even though my stats were OK,” the Protean pacer said.
South Africa's Kagiso Rabada (2ndL) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of England's Dom Sibley during the first day of the second Test cricket match between South Africa and England at the Newlands stadium in Cape Town on January 3, 2020. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
South African speedster Kagiso Rabada has stated that he is fully committed to playing for the South Africa cricket team after a forgettable 2019-20 season in which he admitted to feeling “out of place” and even incurred a one test ban for his overenthusiastic celebration against the England side.
The 25-year-old was the number 1 ranked Test bowler in 2018 but confessed to being below par in the South African summer.
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“I am 150% fully committed to playing for South Africa,” he said in an interview released by Cricket South Africa on Monday.
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“The past season was a disappointment, even though my stats were OK. I just felt really rusty and out of place. I am taking it day by day to achieve my new set of goals,” he added.
Notably, Rabada was forced to sit out in the fourth test against England after collecting a fourth demerit point in a 24-month period for celebrating too close to the visiting captain Joe Root after dismissing him.
“It’s passion,” he says. “Everybody has their opinion and they are entitled to that. I have identified things I needed to and will address them with the people who are closest to me and who I feel should be helping me.”
Rabada has donned the South African colours a total of 142 matches across all three formats since making his debut in 2014. He says that the heavy workload has not really helped him grow as a player. Rabada added that the rest he has had owing to the coronavirus pandemic has been welcome, even if the circumstances are far from being ideal.
“The five years has gone by really quickly, but there has been a huge amount of volume in my cricket,” he added.
“I am just glad that I can get a rest, though not in the way that it has come.”
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