The Proteas speedster had played two matches for GT in IPL 2025 and claimed two wickets
Kagiso Rabada on Saturday put out a statement revealing that his exit from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was due to a failed drug test.
The South African speedster hasn’t tested positive for any performance-enhancing drugs but a recreational one. The reason behind Rabada’s journey back home in April wasn’t revealed and was only stated as ‘to deal with a significant personal matter.’
“I am serving a provisional suspension and I am looking forward to returning to the game I love playing,” Rabada had mentioned in the statement put out by the South African Cricketers’ Association.
However, there is no mention of the duration of his suspension. With the IPL 2025 closer to its business end, it is unlikely that Rabada will be featuring for Gujarat Titans for the remainder of the season.
The pacer had played two matches against Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians and claimed two wickets at an economy of 10.
Despite Rabada’s absence, GT have excelled in their pace department with Prasidh Krishna leading the Purple Cap race with 19 wickets from 10 matches while Mohammed Siraj has 14 wickets. Shubman Gill’s side are in strong contention to finish the league stage in the top-two.
However, South Africa will be hit the hardest if Rabada is unavailable by early June as they have a World Test Championship final to compete against Australia.
A similar series of events had happened with England opener Alex Hales a few months before the 2019 ODI World Cup at home.
Hales tested positive for recreational drug usage twice and was sent home by his domestic side Nottinghamshire just after the start of the List-A tournament Royal London Cup. An official statement said he pulled out of the tournament due to ‘personal reasons’ but was serving the suspension.
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The opener was served with a 21-day provisional suspension by the England and Wales Cricket Board at that time and his name was removed from the final World Cup squad that went on to win the trophy in July, 2019.
It took Hales almost three years to come out of international exile and get selected for the next big ICC event – the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia – and play a starring role in their title triumph.
Previous instances of failed drug tests had jeopardised big careers. On the eve of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, legendary spinner Shane Warne was kicked out of the squad for failing a drug test conducted months before the competition. Warne was suspected to have taken the medicine to mask performance-enhancing drugs.
However, Cricket Australia’s investigation proved no evidence of it and Warne was served a one-year ban from international cricket. Similarly, India’s young upcoming batter Prithvi Shaw was slapped with an eight-month suspension by the BCCI for failing a drug test in 2020.
Shaw hasn’t made a comeback to the national team ever since with his last international appearance coming in July, 2021.
While the likes of Warne and Hales made it back to where they were before failed drug tests, there is the live example of Shaw who is still 25 and has time to set things right.
Rabada, at 29, is in his prime. But the duration of his suspension and further action from the Cricket South Africa are still unknown.
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