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With an infection in the soft tissue of a lower limb, Kagiso Rabada went home from the Indian Premier League on Sunday night. Despite this, he is anticipated to be available for the full T20 World Cup.
Rabada will not play in the Punjab Kings’ next two games despite having played 11 games and claimed 11 wickets at an economy of 8.85. Rabada was permitted to return to South Africa after PBKS was eliminated from the playoffs, where he sought advice from an expert. He was “closely monitored by the medical team” in the run-up to the World Cup, according to a CSA statement.
The fact that Rabada is the only player of African descent listed in the 15-man provisional squad—which has generated some controversy—makes his selection especially significant for South Africa. CSA now has goals for the national team that mandate that they pitch six players of colour in every starting eleven during the course of a season, with at least two of those players having to be black Africans. With only one black player in their team and six players of colour, South Africa will miss that at the T20 World Cup. Rabada will therefore need to participate in every game to make sure they don’t stray too far from the ultimate goal. It will be possible for South Africa to raise the average during the 2024–2025 season.
The only other black African player that had a chance to make the team is Lungi Ngidi, who has been added as a travelling reserve. The other fast bowlers for South Africa are Gerald Coetzee, Ottniel Baartman, Marco Jansen, and Anrich Nortje, who is back after missing nine months due to a stress fracture.