Delhi the only IPL team on KG’s portfolio, but Proteas are his priority
Kagiso Rabada has just one IPL team on his portfolio – the Delhi Capitals – but notwithstanding his loyalty to them, the fast bowler said on Thursday that the Proteas are his first priority and he will probably have to miss the first week or so of this year’s T20 extravaganza in India.
The Delhi side, which was originally known as the Delhi Daredevils before a name change ahead of the 2019 IPL, were runners-up in last year’s competition, with Rabada playing a key role as the leading wicket-taker in the competition. He has unsurprisingly been retained for this year’s edition, at a salary of $575 000.
But the Capitals have expressed some anxiety about his availability this year as fixture-starved South Africa are hosting a white-ball series against Pakistan from April 2-16. Although the dates for the IPL have not yet been officially confirmed, it is believed likely that there will be some overlap.
“In terms of the IPL, my country comes first. It looks like I might miss about a week of the IPL, but the Proteas are my priority. That being said, Delhi is my home in India. They’re the only team I’ve played for in the IPL and they have looked after me really well,” Rabada said on Thursday.
While Rabada has stayed with Delhi since 2017, other leading South Africans have moved around: Faf du Plessis has played for Chennai and Pune; Quinton de Kock has played for four different franchises as have Chris Morris and Dale Steyn.
CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith said earlier this week that no definite decision had been taken yet over when the Proteas would be released because they were still waiting for the IPL dates to be confirmed.
The 25-year-old Rabada is now with the Imperial Lions side in Durban preparing for the CSA T20 Challenge which starts on Friday with the Titans playing the Knights and the Dolphins taking on the Cape Cobras. The Lions, who won the CSA T20 Challenge the last time it was held in 2018/19, start their campaign on Saturday against the Warriors. The entire tournament is being held at Kingsmead.
The Lions certainly have the firepower to be considered one of the favourites with Rabada leading a bowling attack that includes fellow Proteas in pacemen Dwaine Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Wiaan Mulder and Lutho Sipamla and the left-arm spinners Bjorn Fortuin and Aaron Phangiso.
“We’re going to be up against some really good opposition, it’s going to be a stiff challenge with the majority of the Proteas back. We saw in the Mzansi Super League that we have some great cricketers in this country and that was a competition I really enjoyed. This is also going to be awesome for South African cricket and it’s going to be well-contended.
“There’s always a lot of banter in the Proteas squad because we are always representing our franchises, for instance I’ll chirp the Cape guys that the Cobras haven’t won anything for a while. It shows how much pride there is when the Proteas go back to the franchises and I think everyone will see that in this competition. I always put pressure on myself, but it’s not a given that I’m just going to roll the opposition,” Rabada said.