Rabada has been in outstanding form for Delhi Capitals in the ongoing IPL season.
Kagiso Rabada has been in magnificent form in the ongoing Indian Premier League season for Delhi Capitals. The South African pacer is the leading wicket-taker of IPL 2019 so far, with 11 scalps from six matches at a very fine economy rate of 7.56, especially considering he bowls his overs under powerplay restrictions and later at the death.
Rabada himself talked about his exploits for Delhi in an interview with Hindustan Times and said that he is cherishing his time more in IPL this year, as it is helping him get used the kind of pressure which he'll be playing under for Proteas at the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup.
"The IPL is a preparatory tournament for the World Cup," he said. "You play in high pressure and it prepares you mentally. As far as South Africa are concerned, well, we have a young unit that I believe has the potential to win the World Cup. Not many of them have been to the World Cup before, and I think that is actually a good thing."
When asked how different IPL is from the regular T20 Internationals which he consistently plays at the highest level, Rabada pointed out, "It is just that the set of players is different. Otherwise, the intensity is the same, whether you are playing for your country or your franchise."
"How is it being in the same camp as experienced bowlers like Ishant Sharma and Trent Boult?"
"I think our bowling unit is tremendous. Trent is one of the best in the world, Morris offers X-factor and Ishant has done tremendously for India all these years. It is a very potent bowling unit especially when you add our spinners, like Sandeep Lamichhane, in the mix."
Delhi Capitals has won only three out of its six games so far and finds itself fifth in the eight-team IPL points table with six points, but Rabada is hopeful that the win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last match will ensure his side gains momentum and moves forward from here on.
"It is important to let go of the past," he said. "What we identified was that we were lacking in the ability to finish games - I experienced that when I came to the IPL first and also in a few games this season."
"Our core is young, but some of us have also played international cricket -like me, Rishabh (Pant), Shreyas (Iyer). The key is to forget the past and learn from the mistakes we have made in the past."