South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has addressed the media for the first time after serving a one-month ban for testing positive for a recreational drug during the SA20 league earlier this year. The ban led to his early exit from the IPL 2025 in March, citing β€œpersonal reasons,” before the details came to light.

Now, as he heads to London to join the national team for the World Test Championship final, Rabada acknowledged the importance of having conversations with teammates and confronting any scrutiny that may follow.

Facing Teammates and Moving Forward

Speaking on his relationship with the squad, Rabada emphasized the need to be transparent with those closest to him.

β€œπ‘° π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ 𝑰 π’π’˜π’† π’Šπ’• 𝒕𝒐 π’•π’‰π’†π’Ž – π’•π’‰π’†π’šβ€™π’“π’† π’Žπ’š π’•π’†π’‚π’Žπ’Žπ’‚π’•π’†π’”. 𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 π’„π’π’Žπ’† π’‡π’“π’π’Ž 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 π’Žπ’š 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝑰 π’π’˜π’† π’Šπ’• 𝒕𝒐 π’•π’‰π’†π’Ž,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.

While he admitted the situation was far from ideal, Rabada has already reached out to some players and plans to discuss things in more detail when they regroup for the final.

β€œπ‘°β€™π’—π’† π’‚π’π’“π’†π’‚π’…π’š π’”π’‘π’π’Œπ’†π’ 𝒕𝒐 π’•π’‰π’†π’Ž 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 π’ˆπ’–π’†π’”π’” π’˜π’† 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐 π’Šπ’ π’Žπ’π’“π’† π’…π’†π’•π’‚π’Šπ’ π’˜π’‰π’†π’ π’˜π’† π’ˆπ’†π’• π’•π’π’ˆπ’†π’•π’‰π’†π’“ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 π’‚π’Žπ’π’–π’π’• 𝒐𝒇 π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.

Reflecting on the Incident

Rabada tested positive for a banned recreational drugβ€”possibly cannabis, cocaine, heroin, or ecstasyβ€”as per South Africa’s drug-free sport code. Though he did not reveal the specific drug involved, the positive result came during January’s SA20 tournament.

Following his suspension, Rabada returned to play two more IPL games for Gujarat Titans once the ban was lifted. He chose not to contest the ban, instead opting to return home and handle the matter privately.

β€œπ‘»π’‰π’† π’…π’†π’„π’Šπ’”π’Šπ’π’ 𝒕𝒐 π’„π’π’Žπ’† π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ π’†π’‚π’“π’π’š [π’‡π’“π’π’Ž 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝑷𝑳] π’˜π’‚π’” π’ƒπ’“π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’‚π’π’•, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 π’…π’†π’„π’Šπ’”π’Šπ’π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 π’Žπ’‚π’…π’†. 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 π’•π’“π’Šπ’†π’… 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 π’Šπ’•, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 π’„π’π’Žπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’‰π’π’Žπ’† π’˜π’‚π’” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 π’π’‘π’•π’Šπ’π’,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅.

He credited the support system around him for helping him navigate the situation smoothly and shared that the experience offered a chance for introspection and growth.

β€œπ‘°π’• 𝒍𝒆𝒅 π’Žπ’† 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 π’ƒπ’Šπ’• 𝒐𝒇 π’Šπ’π’•π’“π’π’”π’‘π’†π’„π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’Žπ’šπ’”π’†π’π’‡β€¦ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ƒπ’Šπ’ˆπ’ˆπ’†π’”π’• π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝑰 π’•π’π’π’Œ π’‚π’˜π’‚π’š π’‡π’“π’π’Ž π’Šπ’• π’Šπ’” π’‰π’‚π’—π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’ˆπ’“π’‚π’•π’Šπ’•π’–π’…π’† 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’† 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’˜π’† 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆,” 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂 π’”π’‚π’Šπ’….

Apology and Determination

Though Rabada had already issued a formal statement of apology, he reiterated his regret to those who may have been disappointed, especially fans and close supporters.

β€œπ‘»π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 π‘°β€™π’Ž π’…π’†π’†π’‘π’π’š π’”π’π’“π’“π’šβ€¦ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 π’Žπ’† 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒆𝒕 π’…π’π’˜π’,” 𝒉𝒆 π’”π’‚π’Šπ’….

Still, the fast bowler made it clear that he would not let this define him.

β€œπ‘°β€™π’π’ 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 β€˜π‘΄π’“-𝑰-π‘¨π’‘π’π’π’π’ˆπ’Šπ’”π’†β€™ 𝒕𝒐𝒐 π’Žπ’–π’„π’‰. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’‚π’„π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’†π’Šπ’•π’‰π’†π’“,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒅.

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