Batters have enjoyed their time so far in IPL 2025 with only few exceptions
Kagiso Rabada is always up for a challenge no matter the format or the conditions. The South African pacer is back in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for an eighth season after a superb SA20 2025 with MI Cape Town with whom he lifted the title.
The Proteas’ lead pacer hasn’t had a great start to IPL 2025 with his new franchise Gujarat Titans. In the first match against Punjab Kings, he managed one wicket for 41 runs while it was a similar story in the clash against Mumbai Indians as he was carted for 42 runs with one wicket to his name.
Bowlers of Rabada’s efficiency have also struggled in the competition as teams have managed to go past the 200-run mark six times from the 12 matches played so far.
Rabada didn’t hold back when expressing his opinion about the pitches in the tournament which have become a hot topic for many teams.
“If wickets become too flat, then you might as well not call it cricket. You could just call it batting. ‘Let’s go play a game of batting, guys.’ It can’t get too flat. What’s the point? It becomes way too generic. I don’t mind higher-scoring games. You need those in cricket. But if conditions are too flat too often, then what’s the fun in that? There’s no point,” Rabad told Times Of India in an interview.
After four frustrating seasons at Punjab Kings, where he had enjoyed only individual success but not team’s, Rabada’s journey with Gujarat Titans has been decent with a loss and a win.
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The Proteas’ pacer also spoke about the diminishing use of yorkers due to the tiny margin of error involved in the deliveries.
“It’s a higher-risk, higher-reward situation. That’s how you measure it. But you have to be daring to do it. Like, talking about levelling the playing field, I think nowadays, anyone can hit a six. Even a number nine or number 10 can hit a six. Never mind a number six batting in the 16th or 17th over,” he said.
Despite being a player who made his debut in an era where technology and statistics dictate game planning, Rabada remains a purist who wants enjoy mystery about players.
“There are so many stats; this guy does this, and this guy does that. There’s no real mystery in the game anymore. I guess that’s where you don’t really want to get too much of that. It’s difficult. But if it wasn’t difficult, then it would be boring. So it’s good that it’s difficult,” he said.
Rabada was also full of praise for Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra.
“He’s a belter. He’s such a rad person. Yeah, nothing really serious, gives very simple advice. Not rocket science. Just a good man, and he knows his cricket,” Rabada said of the former India pacer.
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