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The South Africa National Cricket Team is still not sure if Kagiso Rabada will be fit enough to play the upcoming three-match Test series opener against Australia, starting on October 9 at Kingsmead. The Proteas team management wants to wait as long as possible before taking a final call.
Actually, Rabada has not played competitive cricket since the IPL 2026 in May, and that’s why they do not want to hurry. The fast bowler later picked up a hamstring injury during training that kept him out of South Africa’s white-ball games. Earlier, Beth Mooney urges Cricket Australia to rethink Women’s cricket schedule.
Kagiso Rabada gives fitness boost ahead of Australia Tests
The big positive signs are that Kagiso Rabada recently returned to bowling in a two-day intra-squad match and came through it well. The fast bowler bowled in the two-day practice game on Sunday and Monday and looked comfortable. He did not face any major issues during the match.
Kagiso Rabada will continue training with the South African squad over the next few days. The team will then decide whether he is ready to play in the first Test against Australia on Friday.
South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince stated, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, "He came through quite nicely and bowled really well. He'll continue to be involved in training over the next few days leading up to the match.”
Kagiso Rabada back bowling but not fully fit?
The main concern is Kagiso Rabada’s match fitness. He has not played red-ball cricket for almost a year. His last Test appearance came during South Africa’s tour of Pakistan in October last year. After that, he missed the matches against India because of a rib injury and has not played first-class cricket since.
Therefore, South Africa wants to make sure he can bowl long spells before putting him into the playing XI in the upcoming home Test series against Australia, which is part of the WTC 2025-27. Amid this, Shoaib Bashir to retain ECB contract despite falling down England’s Test pecking order.
Prince added, “Fair to say that he's obviously not going to be at 100% straight away, but he is looking good. He will train with the squad for the rest of the week, and we will leave a call to be made as late as possible.”
South Africa keeps 17 players; Marques Ackerman in line to make Test debut
South Africa had initially planned to reduce their extended squad from 18 to 15 players. But they have now decided to keep all 17 available players with the team for the series. South Africa has seven pacers available, and the team wants them to get enough bowling time during the Test week.
Even if some of them do not make the playing XI, they can continue bowling in the nets during the Test to build their workload and stay ready. Tony de Zorzi is the only player who has been withdrawn from the squad after suffering a hamstring issue.
Uncapped batter Marques Ackerman is being considered for the No. 3 spot. Ackerman has done well while batting at No. 3 in domestic cricket. He has scored plenty of runs and is known as an attacking batter who likes to keep the game moving, so he is most likely to make his debut at Kingsmead.
