Latest news with #Rabada
IOL News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
EXCLUSIVE: It's all about the medals not numbers for me, says Proteas' Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada celebrates one of his nine wickets in the Lord's Test. Picture: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix 'Any great gift of power or talent is a burden ... But there is nothing to be done. 'If you were born with the gift, then you must serve it, and nothing in this world or out of it may stand in the way of that service, because that is why you were born and that is the Law,' writes Susan Cooper, an English author of children's books. I can't help but think Cooper's words may have been prescribed for Proteas superstar Kagiso Rabada. A Junior World Champion at 18. Now a World Test Champion at 30. It's as if Rabada's script was written for him. 'I think it's amazing, man. So many times we've been inspired by various South Africans… South Africans going around the world, showing their best putting their best foot forward,' Rabada exclusively told Independent Media. 'The rugby did that, the football did that. And now it was our turn. 'It's just crazy how many South Africans are doing so well. So, luckily, we could do that. Kagiso Rabada sits down for an exclusive interview with Independent Media's Zaahier Adams. Picture: Independent Media Image: Independent Media 'I mean, we have done well, but we needed that silverware, and we got it. You check guys on the podium lifting whatever they're lifting up. "You're like, 'I want to be on that stage. Be the best team'. And we were the best team. 'So, I think it's a massive relief. We're glad that we could contribute to the hope that we give to the country.' The sense of duty to Mzansi filters through Rabada's voice. Even more so now after he recently succumbed to his own desires for once. But again as if Cooper's words were ringing in his ears, Rabada took responsibility for his actions, and began plotting the way forward about how best he could serve his country with the God-given talents he was bestowed with. There was no bigger stage to redeem himself than the World Test Championship Final at Lord's. History tells us that Rabada had the Dukes' ball zinging up the Lord's slope as he scythed through the Australian batting line-up on a rip-roaring opening day with the talisman etching his name on the Lord's Honours Board yet again with a second five-wicket haul at The Home of Cricket. In the process, he moved past the original torchbearer of South African fast bowling Allan Donald to confirm his status among the pantheon of greats. He now has 336 Test wickets with only Makhaya Ntini (390), Shaun Pollock (421) and Dale Steyn (439) on the all-time national wicket-takers' list. With the Proteas currently limited to two-match series, and not having a single home red-ball fixture for the entire 2025/26 international season, it may require a superhuman effort from Rabada to ultimately overtake Steyn at the top of the perch. Considering the circumstances, the current two-match series against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo would have been low-lying fruit for Rabada to pluck in a bid to close the gap on Steyn. But much like his U19 captain and WTC Player of the Match, Aiden Markram, who said after Lord's, that 'I'm not here to chase numbers and stats and things like that. I really just want to win stuff for South Africa now,' Rabada sings from the same hymn sheet. 'It's not about me going to Zim and wanting to clean up... Get closer or whatever. No, it's not about that,' he said.
IOL News
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
What makes Kagiso Rabada great? The most obvious question finally gets a straight answer
Kagiso Rabada celebrates one of his nine wickets in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Image: BackpagePix There aren't many questions that stump Proteas speedster Kagiso Rabada. He normally answers the media's enquiries with confidence and in his own laidback manner. But, during the World Test Championship final at Lord's, he took a couple of seconds to answer a question that had first come out on social media. It seemed innocuous at the time when the journalist posed the question, but it did make him think. 'A lot has made me stand out in recent times!' he joked, referring to the one-month ban he served after testing positive for cocaine. He then said: 'My attributes … pace, bounce, movement and doing that consistently." Star Australian batsman Steve Smith had the same response when he was quizzed about Rabada after the first day's play at Lord's when the South African fast bowler took five wickets on the first day of the WTC final. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'He's got good skills,' Smith said after the day's play. 'He can shape the ball away, he can nibble it both ways. 'He's relentless, he's always at you, he's always up for the challenge, he charges in all day. His record speaks for itself, and he showed that again today.' On Monday, during a staff engagement meeting at Red Bull on a rather wet, cold and windy day in Cape Town, the same question was posed to Rabada, who went past the great Allan Donald in the all-time Proteas wicket-taking list during that WTC final win. He was asked if he had 'stewed over the question a bit more' following their triumphant return from Lord's. This time, however, his answer wasn't of a technical nature. It wasn't about his ability to nip the ball both ways with a wobble seam or deadly accurate bouncer. It was about a trait that makes the rise above the good. 'I guess it's about willing to sacrifice everything to get the result that you want. It's just determination,' Rabada said with a little smirk, as the room became all warm and fuzzy.
IOL News
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
‘As South Africans, when people come at us, we go back even harder,' says Proteas superstar Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada has enjoyed his epic battles with Australia over the years. Photo: RED BULL Image: RED BULL Kagiso Rabada may now be walking on water as a world Test champion, but the Proteas superstar has admitted there was a period in his illustrious career where he felt vulnerable. The 30-year-old fast bowler spoke candidly yesterday about the mental challenges he faced within the first two years of becoming a national cricketer. 'I think it was back in 2016. I had a really good 2015. I made my debut for South Africa, but 2016 was going to be my second season. And normally by then, people start to figure you out, and that's when you start going through a few challenges here and there,' Rabada said at his sponsor Red Bull's SA headquarters in Cape Town. 'I remember I didn't have such a good season, it was up and down the whole time. 'As a young player, all I wanted to be was the best, if not one of the best, and to contribute to the South Africa winning games. And it wasn't quite happening my way. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'I think we flew to Australia, and it was my first time going there, and you hear how brutal it is there. It is pretty brutal! 'And I thought to myself, this is what's going to define me. I don't feel like I really belong here as somebody who I want to be on the cricket circuit. 'But this is what's going to define it, this is what's going to make or break it. 'I ended up having a good series, and I think there, I suppose I could carry on here.' Rabada certainly enjoyed a special series Down Under in 2016, with his captain Faf du Plessis famously planting a kiss on the fast bowler's forehead after his heroics in the first Test at the WACA ground in Perth. The then-21-year-old never looked back from the 15 wickets at an average of 22.40 bagged across the three-match series, and has certainly raised his game whenever he's faced the mighty Australians since. His nine-wicket haul in the recent World Test Championship final at Lord's, which earned the Proteas their first ICC silverware in 27 years, was Rabada's latest Aussie demolition job, and he admits that the sight of the Baggy Green does get the fires burning inside his chest. 'They like to come hard,' Rabada said. 'So, I think as South Africans in general, when people come at us, we go back even harder. I think that is just the way we are. Kagiso Rabada was overwhelmed by the reception the Proteas received at OR Tambo Airport after the WTC Final win at Lord's. Picture: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix 'If you look at a team like New Zealand, for instance… they come and greet you and say 'How is your Mom? How's your Dad?' 'And you think, these guys are so nice, and then all of a sudden… 'Hey, we are a bit behind here. We better catch a wake up!' 'But with Australia, we just know. They send the heat. They will even go to the press and target someone. 'So, we'll write that down, and then two days before the game is about to start, we'll go: 'You want to play. Let's go'!'
IOL News
25-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Chokers to champions: Kagiso Rabada explains how Shukri Conrad reshaped Proteas' team culture
In the past the Proteas have fallen short in ICC events when it really mattered with a team stacked with some of the greatest names in South African cricket. Gun speedster Kagiso Rabada has been in a few of those teams who arrived at World Cups and flattered to deceive, as the legacy of the 'chocker' tag kept on growing and growing. But in June 2025 that tag was finally shed by a bunch of players - besides Rabada of course, who are not exactly seen as world beaters, but players who contributed at the right time and the right place. They beat the arch-enemy Australia in the final of the World Test Championship at Lord's to finally break that curse. For the current class of Proteas it's about the collective effort and a team first ethos. It's why Rabada and many of his teammates are playing the game with a smile on their faces. 'I was part of teams that had AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn. We were the number one team in the world in 2019, but we didn't even make the knockouts (of the 50-over World Cup in England),' Rabada said at a media event at Red Bull in Cape Town on Wednesday. 'I really enjoyed playing in that team, and those guys are legends. But we really don't have those guys in the team anymore.
IOL News
20-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Marco Jansen: My role is making the ball swing and talk for Proteas
MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN Marco Jansen (picturerd) discusses his role in leading the Proteas bowling attack alongside Kagiso Rabada, emphasising their strategic approach to exploiting bowling conditions and his awe of Rabada's prowess. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL Image: Michael Sherman/IOL While it's difficult not to be awestruck at times with Kagiso Rabada bowling at the other end, Marco Jansen is in no doubt about his job of leading the Proteas bowling attack. Jansen was speaking as South Africa received a hero's welcome on Wednesday, after the Proteas beat Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's, in London, over the weekend. The tall left-arm quick once again proved the perfect foil for Rabada as the pair claimed eight wickets together in the first innings as Australia were bowled out for 212. That set the tone, and despite a match that ebbed and flowed throughout the contest, the Proteas ultimately emerged convincing five-wicket victors to claim their first piece of major ICC glory (not counting the 1998 Champions Trophy). Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Jansen in Awe of Rabada's Mastery on the Field 'I have a job to do and I have a responsibility to make the ball swing and talk and try and get as many wickets as possible, especially with the new ball,' said Jansen. Bowling with Rabada though, is still sometimes a surreal experience, the 26-year-old explained. 'That guy is good, hey. Every time he gets a wicket, I just... There are a couple of moments or times where he took wickets where I just sort of stood back, sort of like taking in the whole scene, what's happening and stuff like that, reminding me when I was in school, seeing him on TV doing similar things and then sort of snapping out of it in an instant and starting celebrating. 'I think to myself, this is unbelievable. But also at the same time, remembering or telling myself that I also have a job to do. 'I can't just take everything in and just be there and go along for the ride if that makes sense.'
