Kagiso Rabada admitted to recreational drug use as the reason for his absence from IPL 2025.
Kagiso Rabada, the Gujarat Titans and South Africa pacer, is scheduled to return to the ongoing IPL 2025 tournament after admitting that his suspension was due to 'recreational drug use'.
Until the statement, the cause for his absence from the IPL was described as a 'personal problem'. However, former Australia captain Tim Paine is dissatisfied with how the true picture was shielded from the public.
Paine chastised the authorities for sweeping the Rabada drug scandal under the rug. Having fulfilled his ban, the pacer is now eligible to play for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL and South Africa in the World Test Championship final.
"It stinks. I don't like this use around personal issues, and it is being used to hide stuff that isn't a personal issue. If you have a professional sportsman who's tested for recreational drugs during a tournament in which he is playing, that doesn't fall under personal issues for me. That falls under you having broken your contract. That is not a personal issue; that is something that is happening in your personal life.
Taking drugs - recreational or performance enhancing - is not a personal issue that can just be hidden for a month. A guy can be taken out of the IPL, moved back to South Africa, and we just let it slide under the rug. Then we will bring him back once he's already served his ban," Paine said on SEN Radio breakfast show.
Although it has been established that Rabada used recreational drugs rather than performance-enhancing ones. It is still unclear what he consumed. The length of his ban, as well as the identity of those imposing it, are unknown.
"Not only will he play against Australia in the world Test Championship, but he's also available to play now in the IPL. No one knew about what he's taken, what he was given, or who the organising body that oversaw it was.
If he is going to take drugs and be caught doing it, I think people deserve to know what he's taken, how long he is being suspended for, and who sanctioned it (the suspension). People need to be held to account for stuff like that,” Paine concluded.