Kagiso Rabada says he feels no added pressure to his international career following his record-breaking performance against Bangladesh in the first ODI on Friday.
The 20-year-old says he will continue with the simple approach and processes to his game after he claimed 6-16, including a hat-trick, which officially makes it the best debut figures by any player for any country in the history of One-Day cricket.
Rabada’s performance inspired South Africa to a eight-wicket victory after the game was reduced to 40-overs a side due to a rain delay.
‘I didn’t know what to bowl,’ he said of his hat-trick delivery. ‘I thought of the yorker, bouncer or just a normal length delivery. I ended up going for the yorker and missed it by miles. It was probably a fluke but I’ll take it,’ he joked.
‘The wicket looked like it had a bit more grass than in the T20’s, that encouraged me a little bit. I went in there trying to execute good lengths, good lines and varying it up with some bouncers and yorkers that we have been working on in practice sessions.
‘There is a responsibility that comes when you are selected to represent your country,’ he said.
‘You have to make sure that you fulfil your role. With every game that comes I’m going to make sure that I’m ready and I’m going to try to do well. If I don’t do well, what can you do, if I do well then great.’
Captain Hashim Amla was equally impressed with Rabada’s performance, and commended his disciplined work ethic and understanding of the game.
‘One thing that works in KG’s [Rabada] favour and most of the youngsters in the team is that they work extremely hard,’ he said.
‘They come from a grounded background and understand the game. They also understand that you can be a hero to a zero in the space of one game, that’s just part of the learning curve.
‘From the team’s perspective, and the most important, is that we don’t have great expectations.’
‘We want guys to do well and perform at their best; the team backs guys 100%. We know how the game goes, Eddie [Leie] has done well, KG has done well, it’s really healthy for us.’
Picture: AFP
