For all the benefits it has provided to cricket, Kagiso Rabada hopes the Indian Premier League (IPL) doesn’t destroy the international game and wants a happy medium to be found where both can thrive.
Rabada is a superstar in the international game and IPL, putting heavy demands on him mentally and physically. “I still prefer playing international cricket — that’s the pinnacle. But the IPL is a magnificent tournament,” he said.
Had his IPL team the Punjab Kings had its way, he would have been in Mohali on Saturday, where they begin their 2023 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Instead, Cricket South Africa (CSA) put its foot down, insisting all nationally contracted players be available for the two ODIs against the Netherlands on Friday and Sunday. Those matches are critical to the Proteas’ chances of securing automatic qualification for this year’s World Cup.
Rabada, who was signed for R18.6m by Punjab, understands the benefits of the IPL. “Financially, obviously, it is incredibly good, mixing with other players and broadening the cricket network, and increasing the talent pool ... it’s good for the game, it markets it extremely well. Wherever there is money, there are eyes. It’s good and it grows the game,” he said.
Rabada has been a star of the tournament since signing his first contract there in 2017 with the then-Delhi Daredevils (later Capitals). In 63 matches he’s taken 99 wickets and his strike rate (balls bowled per wicket taken) of 14.4 is the best among bowlers who’ve taken 60 or more wickets.
While appreciating the benefits, the 27-year-old sounded a warning for authorities in the IPL and at the International Cricket Council (ICC). “My only thing is that (the IPL) doesn’t take away from Test cricket and ODIs, which people say is dying because people are focusing on T20.”
“I still believe that the truest form of the game is Test cricket. As much as you get your good T20 players, where you get tested the most is in Test cricket, it’s the purest form. The only thing the IPL shouldn’t do is take away from that. All the other benefits — the excitement, the entertainment, the financial benefit — help to grow the game.”
CSA’s justifiable demand that the likes of Rabada, Quinton de Kock, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram and David Miller, among others, be available for the ODIs against the Dutch led to some tough negotiations between CSA and the different franchises. Miller said last week his team, the Gujarat Titans, were “really upset” he was missing their opening match on Friday, the first of this year’s tournament.
Because franchise owners shell out millions of dollars for players, they believe they deserve to see a return on every cent of that investment. The IPL is the world’s second-most financially lucrative league (on a per-match basis) after the NFL in the US and it is putting a squeeze on the calendar, making life difficult for players and national federations.
Last year CSA left it up to the players to decide whether they wanted to represent the Proteas for the two Tests against Bangladesh. They all chose to head to India, but it certainly proved a distraction for the One-Day series, which preceded the Tests, and it was subsequently felt that the pressure the players, including Rabada, were under, may have had an effect on that series, which the Proteas lost, leaving their World Cup qualification in jeopardy.
Now Rabada must help resolve that issue and in doing so, ease pressure on the fixture list by avoiding the ICC qualification tournament in Zimbabwe later this year.
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