[VIDEOS/PICTURES] Kagiso Rabada - A champion bowler

Rabada is outstanding and the scary thing is he is so young and seems so fit. He needs a good partner to bowl with. I hope Ngidi and Nortje step up.
 
Kagiso Rabada 200 Test wickets:

- 8th South African; Steyn, S Pollock, Ntini, Donald, M Morkel, Kallis & Philander
- 3rd fastest South African (44 Tests); Steyn (39) & Donald (42)
- 4th youngest all-time (25y & 248d); behind Waqar Younis, Kapil Dev & Harbhajan Singh
 
Rabada has achieved the 200 wicket milestone at a Lower strike rate than anyone not named Waqar or Steyn.
 
A green/home track bully par excellence.

Put him anywhere in Asia and he goes to water.
 
A green/home track bully par excellence.

Put him anywhere in Asia and he goes to water.
Averages 23 in srl and 22. 5 in pakistan.
He failed in India but that's it, he is an all conditions bowler.
Also he is just 25 and already has 200 wkts, an ATG in the making.
 
Kagiso Rabada on Waqar Younis during the post day presser:

"I think Waqar Younis was a wonderful bowler, one of the bowlers I watched in my spare time in order to learn about the game; I would like to chat with him when all of this is over and see what he has to say"
 
Kagiso Rabada 200 Test wickets:

- 8th South African; Steyn, S Pollock, Ntini, Donald, M Morkel, Kallis & Philander
- 3rd fastest South African (44 Tests); Steyn (39) & Donald (42)
- 4th youngest all-time (25y & 248d); behind Waqar Younis, Kapil Dev & Harbhajan Singh

He's probably actually the youngest. Top 3 are Pakistani and Indian so they probably have fake ages:danish
 
Brilliant bowler. Who cares what he does in Asia lol? Some people think too much of this. What are you expecting a fast bowler to do on pitches that have nothing in it for them? If they perform, that is great. If not, doesn’t make you a rubbish bowler

Rabada will do okay in Asia anyway.
 
For me Rabada has struggled for rhythm for the last couple of years but still has done well statistically. I think the double the bowler if he goes full but that means conceding runs as well as taking wickets.
 
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Brilliant bowler. Who cares what he does in Asia lol? Some people think too much of this. What are you expecting a fast bowler to do on pitches that have nothing in it for them? If they perform, that is great. If not, doesn’t make you a rubbish bowler

Rabada will do okay in Asia anyway.

Actually it looked like they were getting a healthy amount of reverse during PAK's 1st innings. Between the other two and Rabada, they should have taken at least 2-3 wickets with that ball as it was doing a decent amount in the air.

Very good bowler but missed out a big chance to put on an Asian reverse swing masterclass. Would have made great viewing. He's still got one more shot at it in KHI when PAK come out to bat again.
 
Highly sceptical of the real ages of the top 3 - in all likelihood Rabada is the fastest. Having said that a better comparison may be number of deliveries taken to reach the milestone.

His brother Faisal let it slip on air that Waqar is 52 right now. That’s 3 years of fudging, which puts him just below Steyn on the above list.
 
5 wickets at an average of nearly 40.

He was awful and looked disinterested most of the time.

Even with the bat he is no mug, but in this series he scored 22 runs in 4 innings.
 
Highly sceptical of the real ages of the top 3 - in all likelihood Rabada is the fastest. Having said that a better comparison may be number of deliveries taken to reach the milestone.

And numbers 6 and 10 also.
 
5 wickets at an average of nearly 40.

He was awful and looked disinterested most of the time.

Even with the bat he is no mug, but in this series he scored 22 runs in 4 innings.

Agreed. It didnt look like he wanted to be there at all.

Is he staying for the t20I matches?
 
5 wickets at an average of nearly 40.

He was awful and looked disinterested most of the time.

Even with the bat he is no mug, but in this series he scored 22 runs in 4 innings.

Things seem amiss in their camp.

Has a funny familiar tinge to it. The kind when PAK camp had some elephant in the room that no one would be willing to address.

Nortje out-bowled him. Ngidi got more reverse in the first Test - didn't do anything with it though.
 
I find him to be highly over rated. Nortjke kept racing in, bending his back and touching speeds around 140-145 km/hr regularly in all his spells and Rabadda was hovering at 129-132 km/hr, he clearly is a bouncy track bully, doesn't know how to bowl outside his comfort zone.
 
Having said that Rabadda has bowled a lot of overs over the years, maybe he is now beginning to slow down because of the workload.
 
Man I still remember when Rabada first debuted. Fresh from U19 WC. Time flies, can’t believe he is at 200 already.
 
Needs a breather and a proper captain. Most talented fast bowler in the world along with Archer.
 
I find him to be highly over rated. Nortjke kept racing in, bending his back and touching speeds around 140-145 km/hr regularly in all his spells and Rabadda was hovering at 129-132 km/hr, he clearly is a bouncy track bully, doesn't know how to bowl outside his comfort zone.
He has burned-out.
An in-form Rabada is among the top 2, 3 fast bowlers in the world and is absolutely not a bouncy track bully.
 
Needs a breather and a proper captain. Most talented fast bowler in the world along with Archer.

How do you rate Bumrah? He too has the skills, can move the ball both ways and reverse it. The pace has gone down a bit but can still crack it to 140s often.
 
He looked like a 40 year old retired bowler bowling after a long time.
 
JOHANNESBURG - Kagiso Rabada says the Proteas remain his priority and that the Indian Premier League will have to wait this year.

“The country comes first,” said South Africa’s premier fast bowler in response to reports in India about his availability for the start of the 2021 IPL.

Although no dates for the IPL have been announced yet, the tournament is set to start in April, which could see it clash with South Africa’s limited overs series’s against Pakistan. Given ‘bio bubble’ protocols, Rabada could miss more than just the first week.

The Pakistanis will play four T20 and three One-Day Internationals between April 2 and April 16, putting Rabada and some of the other South African participants in the IPL in danger of missing the start of the lucrative T20 league.

The Delhi Capitals, for which Rabada plays, have made inquiries with the Board of Control for Cricket in India about the availability of both Rabada and Anrich Nortje, but were, according to reports in India, still awaiting word about their players.

Rabada seemed to clear matters up on Thursday, in a media conference ahead of the Cricket SA T20 Challenge that starts on Friday, stating his availability for the Pakistan series’. “I might miss a week of IPL, but the country comes first.”

“Delhi has been my home in India, but national duty is a priority,” Rabada added.

The 25 year old has been a star for Delhi in the last two IPL tournaments. In 2019, his back injury, before the playoffs was extremely costly to their chances of progressing through to the end of the competition, while last year, he finished as the top wicket-taker - with 30 wickets in 17 matches - as Delhi finished runners-up to the Mumbai Indians..

Besides Rabada and Nortje, Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi, who play for the Chennai franchise could also miss the first week or two of the IPL, should they be picked for the Pakistan series

https://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket...d-of-ipl-dec861eb-7827-4da7-8483-e60c4d819fa2
 
Ever since the Warner QDK fight 3 years ago, Rabada has struggled. Looks to be going backwards very quickly.
 
Ever since the Warner QDK fight 3 years ago, Rabada has struggled. Looks to be going backwards very quickly.

He had a stress fracture in his lower back. And CSA play him in every single format all the time. A young bowler shouldn't have such an insane workload.
 
He had a stress fracture in his lower back. And CSA play him in every single format all the time. A young bowler shouldn't have such an insane workload.

But he has also had a rest for pretty much a year and a bit and looks, by his own standards, very average
 
Cons of playing all three formats.

Can't maintain consistency in all formats all the time.
 
But he has also had a rest for pretty much a year and a bit and looks, by his own standards, very average

I agree. There's something not quite right with the way hes bowling. Just does not have the same zip off the wicket he had earlier.
Needs to work with Lillee or one of those Aussies coaches and get his action, rhythm and everything sorted much like Johnson did or I fear for his future. CSA are clueless.
 
I agree. There's something not quite right with the way hes bowling. Just does not have the same zip off the wicket he had earlier.
Needs to work with Lillee or one of those Aussies coaches and get his action, rhythm and everything sorted much like Johnson did or I fear for his future. CSA are clueless.
I commented around 2 years ago that he had lost that zip.
3 years isn't a blip, this a serious issue for him. His lengths in tests and ODI are too defensive and T20 other teams are targeting him.
 
World Cup Hat-trick for Kagiso Rabada against England.
 
His hat-trick:

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There were a lot of reasons why Kagiso Rabada could have kept a low profile as his captain. Temba Bavuma considered who should bowl the final over of their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 campaign.

As South Africa took on England needing a win by 60 runs to qualify for the semi-finals, Rabada had gone for 45 of his previous three overs, including being whacked for three sixes in a row by Liam Livingstone.

To add insult to injury, the second of those maximums had consigned South Africa to a gloomy fate.

They would not be making it through to the semi-finals, as England passed 132 runs South Africa’s net run-rate dipped below Australia’s, meaning even a victory was futile.

However, that didn’t stop Rabada from taking the ball from Bavuma, bowling the final over and achieving something only three men have done previously at a T20 World Cup.

As he took the ball and walked to his mark, England needed 14 off the final over to ensure they went into the semi-finals undefeated, and Chris Woakes was on strike having smacked his first ball for six.

That did not deter Rabada from running in at full tilt and delivering a full toss wide of off-stump.

His head may have dropped as Woakes sent a huge heave to the leg-side boundary, but then he would have missed Anrich Nortje taking a superb catch just in front of the rope to get Rabada’s first wicket of the night.

With the batters having crossed, Rabada’s night didn’t necessarily get any easier as he now had to face Eoin Morgan.

Rabada ran and delivered the same ball to Morgan who this time sent it to deep backward square-leg where Keshav Maharaj was waiting to gobble it up.

Just like that he was on a hat-trick and had perhaps an easier batter to face with Chris Jordan ready to receive his first ball of the game.

Now a tried and tested method, in came Rabada again with a full toss on the off-side, Jordan hit it low to long-off where a diving David Miller took the catch.

Rabada had a hat-trick and perhaps for the first time in the night had a smile on his face as he broke into laughter.

Only he, Wanindu Hasaranga, Curtis Campher and Brett Lee had ever taken a hat-trick at a T20 World Cup and Rabada perhaps did it under the most difficult of circumstances.

The baby-faced 26-year-old had shown resilience to come back from three sixes in three balls and being knocked out of the World Cup to take three wickets in three balls and defeat in-form England.

And while South Africa will not have their name on the trophy this time, their leading fast-bowler has etched his name into the history books.
 
0/51 from 20 innocuous overs at Centurion today, he just doesn't look the same bowler he was three years ago.

Can't spot any major technical differences from when he was bullying the Pakistani batsmen in 2019, however, pace is down considerably and there's no real swing or seam movement.
 
0/51 from 20 innocuous overs at Centurion today, he just doesn't look the same bowler he was three years ago.

Can't spot any major technical differences from when he was bullying the Pakistani batsmen in 2019, however, pace is down considerably and there's no real swing or seam movement.

Definitely gone downhill last 2 years. Slower, innocuous.
 
Rabada has played a lot of Cricket for SA since 2015. Even though he is still young but the workload has taken a toll on his pace, zip, bounce. Let's also not forget, he has mostly been a bouncy track bully.

Let's also not forget the fact that he no longer has the likes of Steyn, Philander, O Livier, Morkel to help create sustainable pressure. It's a totally different beast having to shoulder the burden of the entire bowling line up yourself.
 
0/51 from 20 innocuous overs at Centurion today, he just doesn't look the same bowler he was three years ago.

Can't spot any major technical differences from when he was bullying the Pakistani batsmen in 2019, however, pace is down considerably and there's no real swing or seam movement.

It's the composition of the side which is destroying him.

He is bowling an extra 3 overs in every session, because the support bowlers are not Test class. It's the same reason why Shaheen Shah Afridi is so much more dangerous when Faheem Ashraf is in the team.

Give Rabada 5 overs per session and he can bowl at 145K and he will take a wicket in every spell.

Give Rabada 7 overs per session and he will bowl at 136K and take fewer wickets.
 
It's the composition of the side which is destroying him.

He is bowling an extra 3 overs in every session, because the support bowlers are not Test class. It's the same reason why Shaheen Shah Afridi is so much more dangerous when Faheem Ashraf is in the team.

Give Rabada 5 overs per session and he can bowl at 145K and he will take a wicket in every spell.

Give Rabada 7 overs per session and he will bowl at 136K and take fewer wickets.

Pace was down in the WC as well. It makes a huge difference.
 
He has lost a lot of pace. Disappointing yesterday.

He once looked like a champion bowler, but not in that class at the moment.
 
It's the composition of the side which is destroying him.

He is bowling an extra 3 overs in every session, because the support bowlers are not Test class. It's the same reason why Shaheen Shah Afridi is so much more dangerous when Faheem Ashraf is in the team.

Give Rabada 5 overs per session and he can bowl at 145K and he will take a wicket in every spell.

Give Rabada 7 overs per session and he will bowl at 136K and take fewer wickets.

Surprising you'd say that. SA pacers are

1. Jansen - 6'8"
2. Ngidi - 6'5"
3. Rabada - 6'3"
4. Mulder - 6'2"

This is the tallest, and by virtue of that fact, the greatest seam attack currently playing especially since that rth quick is tall enough too.

Surely that's not an excuse for Rabada :inti
 
Surprising you'd say that. SA pacers are

1. Jansen - 6'8"
2. Ngidi - 6'5"
3. Rabada - 6'3"
4. Mulder - 6'2"

This is the tallest, and by virtue of that fact, the greatest seam attack currently playing especially since that rth quick is tall enough too.

Surely that's not an excuse for Rabada :inti

Tallness helps, but Jansen and Mulder are rubbish, which definitely doesn’t help.
 
Rabada is a high quality bowler, who is going through a bad patch. That is part of the game. Doesn't make him any bad. He is still in the same class as Cummins and Bumrah as top 3 bowlers of this generation.
 
Rabada is a high quality bowler, who is going through a bad patch. That is part of the game. Doesn't make him any bad. He is still in the same class as Cummins and Bumrah as top 3 bowlers of this generation.

Was a high quality bowler but isn't at the moment. Weren't you arguing how good he was and after one innings you are now saying he is going through a bad patch. How can 20 overs lead you to conclude a bad patch?
 
Hasnt been the same after destroying Pakistsn back in 2019. Post that series he has taken only 45 wickets at almost 29. That series was 3 years ago.
 
Kagiso Rabada's statistics:

November 2015 to January 2019:

Matches: 35
Bowling Innings: 65
Overs: 1075.5
Maidens: 224
Wickets: 168
Best Bowling Innings: 7/112
Best Bowling Match: 13/144
Bowling Average: 21.41
Strike Rate: 38.4
5 Wicket Innings: 9
10 Wicket Match: 4

February 2019 to December 2021:

Matches: 13
Bowling Innings: 22
Overs: 408.2
Maidens: 85
Wickets: 45
Best Bowling Innings: 5/34
Best Bowling Match: 7/171
Bowling Average: 28.88
Strike Rate: 54.4
5 Wicket Innings: 1
10 Wicket Match: 0

It's a significant decline.
 
Kagiso Rabada's statistics:

November 2015 to January 2019:

Matches: 35
Bowling Innings: 65
Overs: 1075.5
Maidens: 224
Wickets: 168
Best Bowling Innings: 7/112
Best Bowling Match: 13/144
Bowling Average: 21.41
Strike Rate: 38.4
5 Wicket Innings: 9
10 Wicket Match: 4

February 2019 to December 2021:

Matches: 13
Bowling Innings: 22
Overs: 408.2
Maidens: 85
Wickets: 45
Best Bowling Innings: 5/34
Best Bowling Match: 7/171
Bowling Average: 28.88
Strike Rate: 54.4
5 Wicket Innings: 1
10 Wicket Match: 0

It's a significant decline.

I trace his decline all the way back to the match SL won with that last wicket stance. He wasn't much cop in England and although he has had brief flirtations with form, the overall bowling looks defensive and lethargic
 
Kagiso Rabada's statistics:

November 2015 to January 2019:

Matches: 35
Bowling Innings: 65
Overs: 1075.5
Maidens: 224
Wickets: 168
Best Bowling Innings: 7/112
Best Bowling Match: 13/144
Bowling Average: 21.41
Strike Rate: 38.4
5 Wicket Innings: 9
10 Wicket Match: 4

February 2019 to December 2021:

Matches: 13
Bowling Innings: 22
Overs: 408.2
Maidens: 85
Wickets: 45
Best Bowling Innings: 5/34
Best Bowling Match: 7/171
Bowling Average: 28.88
Strike Rate: 54.4
5 Wicket Innings: 1
10 Wicket Match: 0

It's a significant decline.

Alarming strike rate difference wow. Almost 16 balls difference.
 
It's the composition of the side which is destroying him.

He is bowling an extra 3 overs in every session, because the support bowlers are not Test class. It's the same reason why Shaheen Shah Afridi is so much more dangerous when Faheem Ashraf is in the team.

Give Rabada 5 overs per session and he can bowl at 145K and he will take a wicket in every spell.

Give Rabada 7 overs per session and he will bowl at 136K and take fewer wickets.

Plays too many limited over games to for my liking, SA should limit his workload and use him closer to tournaments in the limited overs. Prioritise Tests and use him in bursts, but support at the other end would help to. At the moment he needs some rest to.
 
Plays too many limited over games to for my liking, SA should limit his workload and use him closer to tournaments in the limited overs. Prioritise Tests and use him in bursts, but support at the other end would help to. At the moment he needs some rest to.

He looks short of rhythm and confidence- surely he needs to play more not less at this point..
 
Was a high quality bowler but isn't at the moment. Weren't you arguing how good he was and after one innings you are now saying he is going through a bad patch. How can 20 overs lead you to conclude a bad patch?

So, which great bowler hasn't gone through a bad patch?

Rabada is one of the best bowler of this generation and he just proved it by performing very well vs the best side of this generation. He is in a league of his own with 200+ test wickets at an average under 23 at age of 26 only.
 
So, which great bowler hasn't gone through a bad patch?

Rabada is one of the best bowler of this generation and he just proved it by performing very well vs the best side of this generation. He is in a league of his own with 200+ test wickets at an average under 23 at age of 26 only.

For me it's not a bad patch, it's a much deeper problem. His lengths have been off( he bowls a comfortable length which stops runs), this is a bye product of low confidence, which in itself is a product of knowing that something isn't right.
 
He looks short of rhythm and confidence- surely he needs to play more not less at this point..

A short break might help both rhythm and confidence given his high workload and spearhead role. SA also need to take a look at how he is utilised during games and off course Rabada can have a think about areas for improvement, some of the best ever in history have taken a bit of time out to and while it may not be idea for SA in the short term, in the long term might be a positive
 
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Dean Elgar just mentioned post-match that he had an honest conversation with Rabada to fire him up ahead of this Test as the team felt that his intensity had been missing for a while:

"With KG there was something happened behind the scenes but we're not going to get into that. Sometimes KG needs a rocket. You could then almost sense the intensity and focus, he was in the zone. The moment he has that attitude he wants to bowl and wants to contribute, you have to use it as a captain. It was awesome to see him fire."
 
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Form is temporary, class is permanent.

KG proves it once again. He is very much in the league of Cummins and Bumrah as the three best bowlers of the generation.
 
Was watching clips of his bowling in 2016-2017. The guy used to consistently operate at 140-145 km/hr. His pace has drastically dropped to 127-133 km/hr. That drop in pace makes a huge difference. He is very lucky he gets fast bouncy seaming wickets at home where his 127-133 km/hr bowling is effective but he will struggle for effectiveness on most other wickets.
 
Was watching clips of his bowling in 2016-2017. The guy used to consistently operate at 140-145 km/hr. His pace has drastically dropped to 127-133 km/hr. That drop in pace makes a huge difference. He is very lucky he gets fast bouncy seaming wickets at home where his 127-133 km/hr bowling is effective but he will struggle for effectiveness on most other wickets.
He has slowed down but definitely not 127-133.
He bowls at 133- 142 nowadays.
 
Was watching clips of his bowling in 2016-2017. The guy used to consistently operate at 140-145 km/hr. His pace has drastically dropped to 127-133 km/hr. That drop in pace makes a huge difference. He is very lucky he gets fast bouncy seaming wickets at home where his 127-133 km/hr bowling is effective but he will struggle for effectiveness on most other wickets.

127-133 lol.. He is still maintaining a pretty good pace of 135-140. Not sure what cricket you are watching.
 
"There was a bit of a spark in the dressing room that was needed. There were fair words that were said and I think KG has taken it on board."

Mark Boucher explains the 'behind the scenes' issue that Dean Elgar alluded to regarding Kagiso Rabada.
 
From today's post game presser - Dean Elgar:

"I went up to KG and I said to him, 'You are an immensely respected cricketer within our group and at the moment I don't think you are conducting yourself extremely well."

"I know what KG is capable of. When KG's got his tail up, there's no better bowler than him and I have experienced quite a few guys who have been part of this team. It was a good chat. I can have those chats with KG and he responds extremely well. He takes it away, he lets it process and thinks about it overnight and then he comes back the next day with a scenario for me."

"He was the one who came to me and said what we spoke about: I hit the nail on the head"

"He can sometimes be a little bit too relaxed and he needs to understand that his performance on the field and his performance in the change-room is huge"

"I think that catch that happened off I think it was Rahane that landed between two guys. I think that also spurred him up a hell of a lot and you can almost sense that intensity on the field"

"He was so focused and zoned in on his job at hand. And every time I asked him, do you want one more, he just said to me he is bowling now."

"KG has got that attitude, and he's got the want and he wants to bowl and he wants to contribute in a massive way. I mean, you have to utilise that as a captain. So it was awesome to see him fire," Elgar said.


Head Coach Boucher:

"I think Eric Simons was talking about it in on air about getting a guy in a sweet spot to come out there and bowl," Mark Boucher, South Africa's coach told SuperSport. "There's certain guys - Dale steyn was one of them - who at certain times in his career needed harsh words behind closed doors to bring the best out of him."

"KG - that spell he bowled, broke the game open for us. There was a bit of a spark in the dressing room, maybe it was what was needed in order to get him into that space. and we know when KG is like that it's difficult to get the ball away from him but also you want him on your side rather than the opposition team. There were fair words that were said and I think he's taken it on board and we're hoping we can get him into that sweet spot again for the next Test because it can only bode well for us."
 
Rabada bowled with fire yesterday and looked like the bowler he used to be. I am not yet convinced that he has totally got his mojo back and want to see him on flat wicket.
 
Lol, so he basically received a tongue lashing i.e. if you don't bend your back and get wickets, you will be history
 
Sounds like Captain Elgar gave KG a bit of a rocket!! Well managed.
 
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