As South Africa celebrated the high of a Test win against Australia to level the series at Port Elizabeth on Monday, the ICC delivered a jolt. Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada was handed a two-Test suspension for inappropriate conduct by the ICC hours after victory, effectively ruling him out of the remainder of the series.
The warning signs were there for Rabada before the start of the Test.
The 22-year-old pacer, exceptionally talented as he is, has a history of disciplinary issues. Since making his Test debut in 2015, the fast-bowler’s indiscretions have landed him in trouble.
The South African has now been charged five times by the ICC for various offences following his twin run-ins in the Port Elizabeth Test. His first breach came after an altercation with Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella during an ODI at Cape Town last year.
Both players were docked 50 per cent of their match fees along with three ICC demerit points for their conduct. Four demerit points equals a one-Test or two ODIs/T20s, whichever comes first.
Hence, when South Africa toured England three months later, the pacer was walking a tight-rope disciplinary wise. During the second Test at Trent Bridge, he gave Ben Stokes an expletive laden send-off after dismissing him. Rabada was subsequently given a demerit point for his behaviour, resulting in a one-Test suspension.
The pace did not learn his lesson. He repeated the same offence, this time against India’s Shikhar Dhawan in an ODI series last month. Another demerit point followed and meant that the youngster came into the Australia series with five of them to his name, putting him on the verge of a two-Test suspension.
The David Warner-Quinton de Kock shenanigans left a sour taste in the mouths of both camps and emotions were high. Before the start of the second Test, Proteas veteran Dale Steyn inferred that Rabada had been bowling on a ‘leash’ due to his disciplinary issues and that it was unfair as the Aussies were supposedly going about their business as usual.
It seems the youngster took that call to heart. Even as he bowled his heart out in the second Test, Rabada’s match-winning efforts were overshadowed by two code of conduct violations. The first for making contact with Steve Smith’s shoulder in the first innings after trapping him lbw and the second for giving Warner one of his now infamous sendoffs.
Might seem like it is hard on Rabada, especially when he is in the form of his life, but when there is a system, you have to play within it.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 12, 2018
The youngster knew he had indeed crossed the line when he appeared for the post-match press conference.
“I’ve let myself and the team down,” he said.
“But I have to move forward and I have to see, if I do get banned, then I have to see it as a big learning curve and not repeat the same mistake, because I’ve repeated the same mistake in the eyes of the umpires. I’m not happy about it,” he added.
Hours later, as feared, he was suspended. After the match, there has been intense debate among current and former players on whether such punishments are stifling a format which is already struggling to get eyeballs.
But whichever way you look at it, it is Rabada’s fault that he landed in that situation. While aggression remains one of the biggest weapons of most fast bowlers, it can always be channelled in a way which does not bring about one’s own downfall. Rabada only has to look at how Steyn went about his business without ever curbing his aggression.
What is infuriating about the youngster’s troubles is the fact he has been down this road before. Repeating the same offence three times in short span is a sign of indifference and recklessness.
He might have learnt his lesson for now but it has come at a huge cost to his side. As bowler who seems destined to end up as one of the greats of the game, Rabada needs to cut out the ‘celebrations’ for now.
