South Africa got a blow as fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has been banned for the final Test against England in Johannesburg due to his celebration after dismissing Joe Root in Port Elizabeth. Rabada dismissed Root for 27 and screamed next to him in their first innings.
After that, the ICC has given him one demerit point. With this, he has four demerit points now in a two-year period which led him a one-Test ban.
Kagiso Rabada was found guilty of “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his or her dismissal during an international match”.
Two of his demerit points earlier came during the Test series against Australia, which also witnessed the famous ball-tampering scandal that led Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft banned in 2018. The third came from his celebration of dismissing India’s Shikhar Dhawan earlier the same year as well.
As far as the game is concerned, South Africa and England are at 1-1 in the four-Test series. The final Test will take place on January 24.
Kagiso Rabada criticized by Legends
However, Rabada was criticized by former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding and ex-England batsman Kevin Pietersen on Friday. Both of them said Rabada had let his team down by this behavior.
“He has to learn,” said Holding, who was commentating in the game for SuperSport television. “You can’t keep making the same mistakes. He has to remember he is damaging his team. South Africa without Rabada at the Wanderers – that’s a big blow.”
Another commentator Pietersen said the way Rabada behaved was unacceptable.
“He shouldn’t be celebrating in a batsman’s personal space,” he said, citing Rabada had behaved in a similar way after dismissing Zak Crawley during the second Test in Cape Town earlier.
”I feel sorry for (South African captain) Faf du Plessis and (coach) Mark Boucher. South Africa are going to miss their strike bowler at the Wanderers,”
