Kagiso Rabada can’t have any complaints regarding his one-match suspension, according to former Proteas fast bowler and captain Shaun Pollock.
Rabada picked up his fourth demerit point in the first innings when celebrating the dismissal of England captain Joe Root.
While some have defended Rabada’s passion, Pollock’s view is that the incident is in line with the ICC laws and is one of a number of punishable offences committed by the country’s leading fast bowler.
‘I think it’s the accumulation. Therein lies the problem,’ said Pollock, who also went through the four incidents over the past two years that have landed Rabada in his current predicament.
‘You not allowed to give the batsman a send off, swear at him or charge at the batsman when you get him out. Or make contact with the players.
‘The moral of the story is … he’s done nothing wrong in isolation. But go back to the last Test, he wasn’t given a demerit point against Crawley at Newlands.
‘It’s exactly the same as the Buttler/Philander issue. He got his demerit point. The problem here is he [Rabada] has picked up demerit points along the way. At some point, you going to get over the mark.’
Pollock also suggested that the change in coach may have had a role to play in trying to tone down the fiery character.
‘The change of management has been an issue. It’s something Ottis Gibson was trying to stamp out of Kagiso Rabada. And something he’d had a word with him out. When you get a fine and you lose your match fee, that’s fine for you. But when it influence team selection and can’t play the next game and lose the series, then that’s when the management have to say: “You have to reign your neck in. You can’t afford to behave this way. It’s not only costing you. It’s costing me as the coach, it’s costing the team and it’s costing our country. And we might lose the series because of the way you are behaving. And that’s when you have to step in.”‘
Tongue in cheek, Pollock suggested a celebration coach should be hired for the Proteas.
‘Like Imran Tahir, he runs so far away from the batsman.’
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
