Kagiso Rabada Is A Poster Boy Of South Africa Cricket, Says Graeme Smith

Updated - 23 Jan 2020, 02:12 PM

Graeme Smith (Credits: Twitter)

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The former skipper and the current director of cricket for Cricket South Africa, Graeme Smith stated that Kagiso Rabada is the poster boy of South Africa. He wants to develop a few more players like him for the better future of South Africa in the game of cricket. He further believes the ban is a blessing in disguise for him, considering the burden on his shoulders in the recent past.

Recently, Rabada was charged with a Level 1 offence for reacting aggressively after bowling Joe Root in Port Elizabeth. It earned him one demerit point, taking his total number of active points to four over a two-year period, resulting in the ban. Kagiso Rabada has admitted that he had let the team down.

I think it’s a good thing for Kagiso Rabada – Graeme Smith

Rabada, who has 43 Test caps to his name at the age of 24, accumulated a fourth active demerit point when he entered Joe Root’s personal space and screamed at the ground where Root was standing, after dismissing him at St George’s Park. Graeme Smith believes that Kagiso Rabada will not repeat a similar mistake and also asks ICC to have a deep look into it before banning a player for such reasons.

“It can’t happen anymore. He is disappointed,” Smith said as per ESPN Cricinfo. “There is an element of consistency from the ICC we need to get and understand but we cannot have our gun bowler missing games for these type of things anymore. He is a poster boy and we need to develop more poster boys.”

”Too much has been put on his shoulders as well. He is on every ad, playing every game, he is carrying the can. If he doesn’t perform well, we are in trouble. I think it’s a good thing he is being rested in this series, we need to see some other people step up and start filling that void and taking some pressure off him. Maybe that will help as well.

Rabada will also be rested from the three-match one-day series which will allow recharging the batteries and reflecting on his conduct. Ngidi has been named in South Africa’s ODI squad but will only be available subject to passing a fitness test.