Upbeat Kagiso Rabada keen to make a mark on Sri Lanka tour

South Africa's next assignment is a tour to Sri Lanka in July.

Kagiso Rabada | Getty

Kagiso Rabada's on-field aggression was the talk of the town in South Africa’s home Test series against Australia in March. The 23-year-old Proteas speedster had several confrontations with the Aussie batsmen and was found guilty of the ICC Level 2 offence for making physical contact with Steve Smith in Port Elizabeth Test.

On Saturday (June 2), Rabada swept the South African Cricket Awards night by winning six of the eight available awards. Speaking at the award function, Rabada said he has learnt the lesson from his past experiences.

"There are certain things that happened to me, some good and some bad, which I have taken note off and made a conscious effort to improve on them, be it on the cricket field or just in my life. That's where I am at the moment, just trying to build on from last season and trying to be ruthless by bringing this on in the new season," Rabada said.

South Africa's next assignment is a tour to Sri Lanka in July. Rabada, who missed the cash-rich Indian Premier League due to lower-back stress, sounds optimistic for the Lanka challenge.

"I've been taking it one week at a time. When I got injured, there was a plan for three months that I should be ready for Sri Lanka. So, let's see if the plan is going to go accordingly. At the moment, it's all good. We're waiting until July," he asserted.

It has been a remarkable year for Rabada, who accomplished the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test bowler rankings. Rabada cracked the 900-point barrier and is currently the leading wicket-taker in the 2018 calendar year with 38 dismissals at an average of 19.65.

"It felt good to do what I did, but at the same time, I really do think that the whole team contributed. If you look at the Test matches we played, whenever we were in trouble, there was always someone different who bailed us out,” Rabada explained.

"There were guys like Aiden (Markram), AB (de Villiers) and Dean (Elgar), who were consistent, but you must also look at the roles that other guys played, like Keshav (Maharaj), Temba (Bavuma) or Quinny (Quinton de Kock) at Newlands," he concluded.

(With inputs from Telegraph India)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 05 Jun, 2018

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