Rabada ready for World Cup
WORLD CUP: WORLD’S NO 1 PACEMAN READY FOR ACTION
South Africa have a wealth of bad memories at the World Cup but bowling spearhead Kagiso Rabada is adamant he is ready to take history on head-on as he prepares for his first appearance at cricket’s global showpiece.
Rabada was only born in 1995 so he was unaware of South Africa’s first two World Cup exits, in the semifinals in Australia in 1992 and at the quarterfinal stage against the Brian Lara-inspired West Indies in Karachi in 1996. But Rabada’s earliest memories probably involve arguably the worst meltdown of all – the 1999 tied semifinal in Birmingham.
Three more World Cups came and went with South Africa always finding a way to disappoint and when Rabada was finally old enough to make the team, in 2015, he had already played T20 International cricket and had just broken Dale Steyn’s record for the best figures in franchise cricket, but was considered just too raw and inexperienced for the trip.
Now Rabada is the No 1 fast bowler in the world and such a star that he is one of the ICC’s ambassadors for the World Cup.
“It did affect me watching all South Africa’s bad luck in the World Cup and there’s always so much talk about choking, so it does play a role. You just have to deal with it in a quick and orderly fashion. We just need to make sure we are fresh mentally. People will say we’re chokers but we don’t let outside influences like that into our circle, that’s part of our team culture.
“Some people will ridicule us, but we won’t let outside influences like commentators, journalists or some fans distract us. We play for those who are truly behind us, and we know when we’ve lost, we don’t just go and drink beers, it hurts us too. You need to be fortunate as well, but we can just control the controllables, tune out the off-field stuff and stick to our guns,” Rabada told The Citizen yesterday after picking up a brand new Nissan 370z at Zwartkops Raceway as part of his ICC ambassadorship role.
As if Rabada does not tax batsmen enough already – in his 62 ODIs he has already taken 98 wickets at 26.96 and concedes just five runs per over – the Johannesburger is working hard on ensuring he is even better than he has been in the last four incredible years when he gets to the World Cup.
“There are a few things I’m working on, I’m planning how I can be most effective at the World Cup. I really believe I can make an impact there, I just have to go in and try and implement what I’m working on.
“I’ve taken advice on how to peak at the tournament and now it’s just about the simple things because the belief is there.”