CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – Kagiso Rabada has played down the significance of the battle between South Africa’s fast bowlers and the England speedsters in the limited overs series that starts at Newlands later this week.
Rabada, 25, was the leading bowler in the 2020 Indian Premier League with 30 wickets in 17 games. He was particularly impressive with his ability at the death of the innings, forming a strong partnership with fellow fast bowler and compatriot Anrich Nortje for the Delhi Capitals.
There has been much talk about their head-to-head battle with England’s Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in the series in South Africa, but Rabada is only focusing on his own game.
“I’m not looking at how they bowl and trying to do better, although Jofra and Mark are world-class fast bowlers and you have to appreciate the skill they bring,” he told reporters yesterday.
“The IPL was great, but in cricket, especially at the international stage, you have to repeat constantly. It is not an easy place, you’re never in your comfort zone. But you have to keep coming back and doing the same thing.
“Sometimes you hit a purple patch, but most of the other times you’re just scrapping and it’s never easy against England.”
Rabada had a huge workload across all formats for South Africa before the COVID-19 pandemic and said he feels refreshed by the enforced break from cricket.
“I was able to take my mind off a lot of things, but I don’t know how many long breaks we’ll be able to have in future. The cricket just gets more and more and you’ve just got to find a way to take it in your stride,” he said.
“Mark Boucher has said he wants to rotate a bit and we trust the coach’s philosophy and buy into it.”
The first of three Twenty20s against England starts on Friday, with the series followed by three One-Day Internationals.