South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada revealed that a turbulent 12 months shaped him into someone far less affected by public criticism after enduring the low of a drugs ban and the high of lifting the World Test Championship title with South Africa.
Rabada, who is currently spearheading Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2026 campaign, missed a major portion of last year’s IPL after serving a one-month suspension for cocaine abuse. But the fast bowler bounced back strongly within weeks, playing a key role in South Africa’s historic World Test Championship triumph in June 2025.
Reflecting on the emotional swings of the past year, the 30-year-old said the experience taught him not to place too much value on outside opinions.
“What I learned from that is not to take people’s opinion seriously. Not to take the world, not to take things too seriously. Sometimes things are blown out of proportion. Sometimes things just get hyped out of proportion,” Rabada told PTI in an interview.
“The things that really matter to you. All of those people who are close to you. How you feel about yourself. That’s really what I learned in a nutshell. That you’re not going to make everyone happy. And that you shouldn’t try to make everyone happy. Just remember who you are,” he added.
Rabada’s return to top form has been emphatic. After missing South Africa’s away Test series against India in December due to a rib injury, the fast bowler has rediscovered rhythm and pace in the IPL, regularly breaching the 150 kmph mark. He is currently among the leading wicket-takers this season with 21 scalps.
The senior pacer is also inching closer to another career milestone, nearing 600 international wickets across formats as he continues to remain one of world cricket’s premier all-format bowlers.
INTERNATIONAL CRICKET REMAINS PRIORITY
At a time when many leading cricketers are scaling back international commitments to participate in franchise leagues around the world, Rabada said managing workload smartly has become essential.
The South African pacer admitted that staying fit now requires greater attention to detail as he gets older.
“Yes, my body is feeling pretty decent, I must say. Touchwood. Continuing to try and stay on top of things, not letting things build up and cause unnecessary headaches in the future. It’s just about not taking things for granted and that’s what I’m trying to do,” Rabada said.
“There’s no real change in fitness regime. Just when you get older you have to work a lot more on smaller things. I’ve always been someone who works really hard.”
Rabada, however, rejected the suggestion that he was beginning to “pick and choose” formats in order to extend his career.
“Picking and choosing, I don’t think that’s the right phrase that I would like to use. I think the right phrase I would like to use is just being wise around what I’m playing and when,” he explained.
With South Africa set for a packed home season featuring major Test assignments against Australia and England, followed by preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup, Rabada has already decided to skip franchise tournaments like Major League Cricket and The Hundred this year.
“You’re looking at a year of planning. So there’s other leagues that we can play like MLC, the Hundred. And for me it’s sacrificing those and not playing those to get ready for international cricket,” Rabada added.
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