I’m The Main Person When It Comes To Judging How I Feel: Kagiso Rabada
Feb 28, 2017 at 3:39 PM
South Africa’s pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has said he would have the final say on deciding whether he is fit or not.
The 21-year old has emerged as South Africa’s main bowler in the last couple of years but the added responsibility has raised concerns over his fitness.
In 2016, he bowled more than any other South Africa bowler across all formats – 431.3 overs compared to Kyle Abbott’s 239.1 who is second in the list. He also made the joint-most appearances for Proteas in 2016 with 32 games across formats.
He is finally showing signs of breakdown during the ongoing series against New Zealand where he has missed one T20I and one One-Day International.He missed the second ODI against New Zealand due to a slight problem with his left knee. He returned for the third One-Dayer in Wellington and speaking after the match, he said that he has now learnt to manage his workload in order to remain injury free.
“I feel like I’m the main person when it comes to judging how I feel, and truthfully as well,” he said. “Sometimes you play with niggles, sometimes you feel fresh, sometimes niggles come and then they go away, sometimes they stay for a bit longer.
“The longer that I’ve played the more I’ve learnt to manage myself, with the help of the medical team who give me advice, and I take it accordingly.”
Meanwhile, South Africa’s head coach Russell Domingo admitted that the bowlers need to be managed well due to the heavy workload.
“A lot of our bowlers need to be managed because of the number of games that get played,” he said. “It’s a fine line between resting players and trying to win series. Particularly for a young player like KG. He’s only 21, Andile is only 20 so those are two young bowlers who need a lot of management.
“But it’s hard to leave KG out of the next match, he’s a seriously good bowler and it’s no coincidence that when he’s back in the mix we look a different side. I’ll need to speak to the sport scientists, but we need to manage him carefully,” he added.