South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has had a whirlwind week in whites. Two five-wicket hauls against Australia in the second Test, a man of the match award, two send-offs to Australian batsmen and a two-match suspension for being a repeat offender.
The day after the ICC handed out the suspension, Rabada rose to the top of the Test rankings. And he has now appealed the ban. Want anything more?
The 22-year-old is one of the most exciting talents in world cricket at the moment. His raw pace, aggression and overall attitude force the public, cricket fans or otherwise, to simply watch. Very few can do that, especially in Tests with the attention span of fans bludgeoned mercilessly by T20 leagues mushrooming in all corners.
Reams of paper have been used to express anguish over the world body’s decision to punish Rabada for what many feel was an innocuous shoulder touch with Steve Smith, or to admonish the youngster for putting himself in harm’s way despite being aware of the disciplinary sword hanging over his neck.
Whether Rabada can learn to curb his enthusiasm is up to him. He is simply too valuable for world cricket to continue receiving demerit points and suspensions for send-offs and code of conduct violations.
But while Rabada’s image has taken a hit following multiple indiscretions – be it expletive laden send-offs to Ben Stokes and Shikhar Dhawan or the shoulder touch with Smith – Rabada’s body should welcome the break. Rabada has appealed the ban and may still play the third Test. But from a workload point of view, it’s a different story.
Number of balls bowled in Tests by age of 22 yrs 291 days:
— Tom Eaton (@TomEatonSA) March 12, 2018
Ambrose: 0
Donald: 0
McGrath: 0
Steyn: 601
Ntini: 752
Pollock: 899
Walsh: 1028
Hadlee: 1409
Anderson: 2034
Marshall: 2094
Holding: 2910
Wasim: 4975
*RABADA: 5254*
Wrap him in cottonwool, Cricket SA. #SaveKGsKnees
Here’s a stat for you – in the last two years Rabada has bowled more deliveries than any other fast bowler in the world (6050 balls in 59 matches). That’s more than all-format bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult.
In the absence of Dale Steyn and irregular appearance of Morne Morkel, Rabada has become the main bowler in South Africa’s attack. That’s great for a bowler who is just in his fourth year at the highest level but not so for one of the very few genuine fast bowlers in the world.
Rabada is 6’3”. He puts a tremendous strain on his back and knees when he bowls long spells in Tests despite his smooth and repeatable action. The wickets on offer in South Africa this season have put greater demands on him as some of them have been especially sluggish. Since January, Rabada has bowled 18 or more overs in an innings in six out of 10 innings. For a true fast bowler, that’s a lot of bowling.
His overall workload is of great concern. In the last four years, only Starc (9207 deliveries) has bowled more overs than Rabada (8044 deliveries) when you look at out-and-out fast bowlers. Starc is 28 and has grown into the workload after years of build-up and gradual development. Rabada has been thrown into the deep end right at the start of his career.
If Rabada ends up missing the next two matches, it won’t be the end of the world. Suspension is not the ideal kind of break because the player’s mind is unlikely to be at ease. But at this point of a superb yet developing career, any sort of a break is welcome.
