'I am not short-tempered', Kagiso Rabada highlights the misconception
South African pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada feels his passion for the game is often taken as aggression by the critics. In an Instagram Live chat, the Proteas speedster asserted he is not short-tempered and likes to play the aggressive brand of cricket. The 25-year-old has been reprimanded on quite a few occasions, owing to his verbal spats and aggressive send-offs. Here is more.
"Lot of people feel I've a short temper. It's just passion. Also if you look at sledging it's part of the game. There's no fast bowler who is going to be nice. It's not like you telling people about their family or whatever," said Rabada.
Earlier this year, Rabada was suspended ahead of the final Test against England as he received a fourth demerit point in a two-year period. He was banned for advancing down the pitch after dismissing England skipper Joe Root in the third Test. Previously, he collected two demerit points in the 2018 Australia Test series. The third resulted from his celebration upon Shikhar Dhawan's dismissal.
The decision to ban Rabada for the final Test drew a lot of flak as several ex-cricketers labelled the punishment "harsh". Having missed his presence, England went on to lose the fourth Test by 191 runs.
Rabada said the drive must be there in order to get on top. "You celebrate the wicket and after the game, you are going to shake the guy's hand and respect the craft. Most of the time, I'm not really aggressive on the field. But that's just international cricket. Every player wants to be the best. That's just the drive coming out," he said.
The fast bowler believes emotions get the best out of him. "Sometimes, an emotion can ignite you. And that's when I feel like I'm the most dangerous because that's when I let everything loose and stop thinking and everything becomes automatic," stated Rabada. He added, "That's for me when I bowl my best is when I'm not thinking."
