Kagiso Rabada expected to be fit for ICC T20 World Cup as South Africa stares at a quota target

Kagiso Rabada, who has returned to South Africa from the ongoing Indian Premier League due to an injury, has put Cricket South Africa (CSA) in a spot of trouble over his fitness. The fast bowler, who played for Punjab Kings in the IPL, returned to his hometown after developing an infection in the soft tissue of a lower limb.

Rabada is expected to be fit for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and will be in a position where he will be expected to play every match in the tournament – both for his on-field pyrotechnics with the ball and to also ensure CSA fulfil their quota of playing a specific number of black Africans in their squad for every season.

The South African cricket board has targets to play six players of colour, out of whom two must be black Africans in every playing XI on average over the course of a season. However, the squad that will be playing at the T20 World Cup has only one black African player in Rabada.

Rabada will have to play all matches in the T20 World Cup so that they do not fall behind in their targets but the board has the liberty of making it up by playing more black Africans in the playing XI in subsequent series in the 2024-25 season to achieve the average number target.

With Rabada ‘being closely monitored’ by the South African cricket board’s medical team, his fitness is sure to be a cause for concern for the board.

South Africa has named Lungi Ngidi, another black African player, as a travelling reserve for the World Cup. They have no black African batters in the World Cup squad.

Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Ottniel Baartman and Marco Jansen, apart from Rabada, are the pace bowlers in South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad.

South Africa is in Group D alongside Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands and Nepal. The Aiden Markram-led team is to begin their T20 World Cup campaign on June 3, against Sri Lanka in New York.

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi and Tristan Stubbs.

Travelling reserves: Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi.