“It’s something that I didn’t expect. Whether it was the right thing to ban me, or the wrong thing, the reality is that I am banned.”
Regardless of the amount of warnings issued, sometimes only when people actually get punished do they learn from their mistakes.
The Proteas will hope that Kagiso Rabada finally understands the repercussions of his actions.
Although there is no consensus that Rabada actually transgressed and was deserving of his punishment – 15 percent of his match fee and one demerit point that led to his suspension from this week’s Wanderers Test – he does flirt dangerously close to the line.
Equally, he is a repeat offender, which further damages his reputation.
Remorse is always a good place to start on the road to redemption and hopefully Rabada’s is not just lip service, for it was just two years ago that he was in a similar position only for the technicalities of the law to intervene.
“It can’t keep happening because I’m letting the team down and I’m letting myself down,” Rabada said yesterday. “It just can’t keep happening and that’s why it hurts so much.
“It’s something that I didn’t expect. Whether it was the right thing to ban me, or the wrong thing, the reality is that I am banned.”
Rabada’s absence from the series finale on his home ground this week is the culmination of arguably the most testing period in the young fast bowler’s international career.
He arrived jaded at last year’s World Cup after a stellar Indian Premier League season and failed to hit the high notes that had previously been taken for granted.
A taxing tour of India followed where the local pacemen outshone South Africa’s golden boy which made everyone realise the burden of carrying the Proteas attack virtually on his own for the past few years was beginning to take its toll on Rabada.
The fact that he plays virtually every game across all the formats certainly doesn’t help his cause and his performances were suffering as a result.
South Africans will hope there is a silver lining to this after all due to the fact that Rabada will get some much-needed rest and more importantly time to reflect on where his career is heading.
