The fast bowler of the South African team, Kagiso Rabada, has set a new goal for his side in the current cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-205. They didn’t qualify for the final in the last two cycles, as their interest in red-ball games has decreased over the last few years.
During the 2021-23 WTC cycle, South Africa finished in the third position, missing out on the title fight with a percentage of 55.56 as they celebrated eight victories in 15 games, besides being defeated on six occasions.
In the maiden cycle of the 2019-21 WTC cycle, the Proteas was nowhere near the title run, as they ended in the sixth position, winning just two of their 13 games with 264 points. Kagiso Rabada has, however, set a new goal for his team in the current cycle of the World Test Championship.
Kagiso Rabada looks to challenge India and Australia in Test cricket
With just one win in the current table of the 2023-25 cycle, South Africa prepares to take on West Indies, against whom they have been undefeated since 2007. Since readmission, they have never lost a multi-game bilateral series in the longest format of the game against the Caribbean side, winning nine of their ten series.
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Before the start of the two-match Test series against the Caribbean side, Kagiso Rabada has stated that as a team, they are confident to keep their winning run continued.
“We know that we can beat them. We do believe that we can beat them. The Caribbean is my favorite place to tour. I love coming here. There’s a lot of history and cricket and cricketing history here.” The fast bowler expressed to the ICC media.
The Kraigg Braithwaite-led side is coming into the series on the back of being whitewashed by England with a 3-0 margin. The only victory in this current cycle has come against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, thanks to the heroics of Shamar Joseph.
Rabada feels that these excitements will attract more fans to the format of the game in the Caribbean Islands.
“Cricket is about giving entertainment. Sport is about giving entertainment to the fans. We saw when West Indies went and beat Australia, that brought a spark back to West Indies Test cricket. And more of that just needs to happen.” Kagiso Rabada remarked during the interaction.
“The celebrations after Shamar Joseph bowled the way that he did – people were crying, people were very emotional. A picture tells a story of a thousand words. So all you have to do is look at those scenes and it’ll tell you.” He added.
The veteran, who has featured in 62 Test matches for South Africa, wants the small nations to be dominant in the longest format of the game, and challenge powerful sides like India and Australia for the World Test Championship.
“For the fans to get good entertainment, the cricket has to be good. I just feel as if when good cricket is played, then the best teams want to play against those teams. It’s up to us to play good Test cricket. And if you play good Test cricket, then you start to get a good following.” Kagiso Rabada encouraged.
India is the runners-up on both the WTC cycles, while Australia is the current champion, winning it in 2023 at the Kennington Oval in London. New Zealand was the inaugural winner of the title when they grabbed the trophy in 2021 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
“It will be such a special landmark but I’m not focused on that, it will just be a byproduct. I’m just focused on making sure that I’m there for the team and that I find a way to put in a performance.” Being nine wickets away from becoming the sixth Protea pacer to join 300-Test club, Kagiso Rabada concluded. “Putting in a performance ultimately means that the team is moving in the right direction and that I’m doing my part.”
The first of the two Tests begins on August 07 at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad.