Kagiso Rabada is ready to bounce back in the 3rd Test

The Proteas speedster Kagiso Rabada was banned from the 2nd Test match against England at Trent Bridge. He attracted the ban for giving a send off to England all-rounder Ben Stokes after dismissing him. Rabada was handed a one demerit point along with a fine of 15 percent of his match fees for the breach of ICC‘s Code of Conduct as he used foul language which was caught on the stump mic.

The visitors were not pleased with the ban as Rabada has been a regular wicket-taker for his side. In the past few months, he has bowled his heart out in all formats and has been absolutely phenomenal. Meanwhile, in his absence, South Africa levelled the series after winning the 2nd Test match convincingly by 340 runs. The 3rd Test of the 4-match Test series is scheduled to start on 27th July at Kennington Oval.

Rabada return is a big bonus

Rabada is all set to return to the playing eleven for the 3rd Test after serving the suspension. He is all charged up to return to the field for the crucial game. The team and the bowling coach are also pleased with Rabada’s return into the side.

“KG is one of our best bowlers. He is the type of guy who steps up when the heat is on. Having KG back, is a big bonus for us. He is a youngster with a lot of energy; he will come with a lot of energy. I have no doubt he will step up,” said the bowling coach Charl Langeveldt.

“He did a lot of work before play during the second Test in Nottingham,” Langeveldt said. “He bowled his overs and got his workload up; he will be raring to go.”

Rabada’s young career

The 22-year-old has taken 77 wickets in his 18-Test career at an impressive average of 24.09 a piece and is a vital member of the team. He is a champion bowler for the Proteas in all formats as termed by the Vice-captain Dean Elgar.

Any incident like this can upset the morale of a young cricketer, but Rabada is all fired up to return to the field stronger and is roaring to give his best. “He has been positive. He was obviously disappointed about what happened, but he has learned from that. The important thing about an incident like this is to learn from it so that it doesn’t happen again. KG is a strong character and he was positive the whole week, Langeveldt said come Thursday he wants to be ready for the Test.”

Conditions of the 3rd Test

As seen in the past, the Kennington Oval pitch has been a good batting wicket but a day ahead of the game it has a lot of grass on it which can be chopped off on the day or left for the faster bowlers to have a field day. “It all depends on the overhead conditions. We could come here on Thursday and it could be nice for bowling, it looks like there is a bit of grass. If you look at the stats it has always been good for batting. We will have to be a bit more aggressive in the second innings and in the first innings tries to contain and do the basics as well and as long as possible,” said the bowling coach of Proteas.