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Kagiso Rabada
Gujarat Titans' Kagiso Rabada is set to make a comeback in the IPL after serving a one-month suspension with all procedures regarding the South Africa pacer's recreational drug use being "followed to the letter", said the franchise's director of cricket Vikram Solanki on Monday. Rabada was handed a one-month suspension for recreational drug use while playing for the MI Cape Town in the SA20 tournament in January this year. He was informed about failing the drug test on April 1, and two days later, GT announced that Rabada had returned home for "personal reasons". The South African Institute for Drug Free Sports (SAIDS) on Monday said Rabada had completed a "substance abuse treatment program", making him available for participation in the IPL. "With Kagiso, as far as tomorrow's match is concerned, the fact is he is now available, given all of the decisions that have been taken and whatever has transpired over the past month or so," Solanki told the media during GT's training session
Immensely impressed by Mayank Yadav's raw speed and accuracy, South Africa and Punjab Kings pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada sees the fast bowling sensation as a "potential pick" in India's squad for the T20 World Cup. The 21-year-old from Delhi has been pushing the speed barrier with every game and on Tuesday night, bowled a 156.7 kmph thunderbolt against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. It was his second straight man of the match performance in his debut season, leading Lucknow Super Giants to a convincing win. Rabada's team Punjab Kings was at the receiving end of Mayank's barrage of short-pitched deliveries last week when the debutant struck thrice with his rattling pace. One of the best pacers in the game, the South African also spoke about Mayank's remarkable accuracy. "He has got something that you cannot buy and that is raw pace. That is what exactly he is exploiting and exploiting it extremely well," Rabada told PTI in an interview. "The lengths that he hits, his plan is clear and
Rohit Sharma, the leader, will need to channelise the champion tactician that resides in him as India look to restore parity against South Africa and remain consequential in the World Championship points table when the second Test starts here on Wednesday. Ravindra Jadeja, India's "Most Valuable Player" across formats, will come back to add the requisite middle-order batting balance and steady overs with the old Kookaburra but it will be the skipper's choice of third and fourth speed merchants that will define the embattled team's response. As harsh as it might sound, no one knows more than Rohit that Prasidh Krishna is pretty undercooked to counter the vagaries of Test cricket and Shardul Thakur's bits and pieces talent will not win him much on most days. But with three top-order batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer compounding the team's worries with their ineptitude while dealing with the bouncer barrage, Shardul's presence gives the side an assumption of ...