Kagiso Rabada– the supremely talented South African pacer has gone from strength to strength since his debut being the most prominent member of the South African line-up in all three formats.
From making his international debut in 2015 to topping the ICC ODI bowlers rankings as well as Test rankings by 2018– the right-arm pacer has undoubtedly carved his niche over the years in his playing career.
Rabada, who has turned 25 on the day I am writing this article, has already etched his name in the record books, and his stats across formats signify why he’s rated so highly among the current crop of leading fast bowlers.
After breaking into the Proteas squad in 2015, Rabada left no stones unturned to become the superstar that he’s today. Sheer pace, unmatched control, and varied range of deliveries– Rabada has managed to make his presence felt on the international stage with all these traits. Playing 75 ODIs, the speedster has aggregated 117 wickets at an average of 27.34.
Kagiso has excelled in Test matches too as he has taken 197 wickets in the longest format with an incredible average of 22.96 including 9 five-wicket hauls in an innings and 4 ten-wicket hauls in a match. He also has 29 wickets in 23 T20I matches for South Africa.
Despite being just 5 years into his international career, Rabada has already achieved numerous accolades:
- In 2016, Rabada became the first cricketer to win six awards at Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) annual dinner, including the prize for Cricketer of the Year.
- In 2018, he again won six awards at CSA’s annual dinner, including Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer, and ODI Cricketer of the Year.
- In August 2018, Wisden named him the best young player in the world.
Along with those accolades, Kagiso has also created several records in international cricket.
On his special day, let’s look at some of the records of Kagiso Rabada:
1) Youngest to 150 Test Wickets
Kagiso Rabada became the youngest bowler to take 150 wickets in Test cricket in 2018. During the first Test of South Africa’s tour to Sri Lanka in 2018, KG dismissed Dilruwan Perera to complete the record
Rabada, who was 23 years and 50 days old when he got to 150 Test wickets, surpassed Harbhajan Singh’s record, who claimed the record having reached 150 Test wickets at the age of 23 and 106 days in 2003.
2) Most Test Wickets in 2018
Rabada has been consistent for South Africa every year, but 2018 was even better for him. He played 10 Test matches that year scalping 52 wickets, including 2 5-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket haul. He recorded those wickets at a brilliant average of 20.07 and an economy rate of 3.15.
| PLAYERS | WICKETS | INNINGS | AVERAGE | ECON. | BEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K Rabada (SA) | 52 | 20 | 20.07 | 3.15 | 6/54 |
| K Perera (SL) | 50 | 21 | 29.32 | 3.11 | 6/32 |
| N Lyon (AUS) | 49 | 20 | 34.02 | 2.70 | 6/122 |
| J Bumrah (IND) | 48 | 18 | 21.02 | 2.65 | 6/33 |
| M Shami (IND) | 47 | 23 | 26.97 | 3.30 | 6/56 |
| P Cummins (AUS) | 44 | 16 | 19.97 | 2.79 | 6/27 |
| J Anderson (ENG) | 43 | 22 | 22.51 | 2.47 | 5/20 |
| T Islam (BAN) | 43 | 13 | 22.97 | 2.96 | 6/33 |
| I Sharma (IND) | 41 | 21 | 21.80 | 2.66 | 5/51 |
| M Hasan (BAN) | 41 | 14 | 22.12 | 3.03 | 7/58 |
Dilruwan Perera, who finished second in the list in 2018, had taken 2 wickets less than Rabada despite playing one more match than him.
3) Best Bowling Figures in ODI debut
Rabada made his One Day International debut for South Africa against Bangladesh on 10 July 2015, and by the end of the match, he already had a record to his name. His figures of 6/16 is still the best bowling figures by a debutant in ODI.
He also became only the second player, after Taijul Islam, to take a hat-trick on debut in an ODI match. On the back of his performance, South Africa defeated Bangladesh by 8 wickets.
4) Youngest South African to take a 10W Haul in Test Cricket
In 2016, Kagiso Rabada added a new feather to his cap when he became the youngest South African bowler to take 10 wickets or more in a Test during the fourth Test against England at Centurion.
Rabada’s efforts aided South Africa record a thumping 280-run win in the match.
His figures (13/144) were also his team’s second-best ever, after Makhaya Ntini’s 13/132.
5) Best Bowling Average and Strike Rate in IPL (30+ Wickets)
Despite playing mere 18 matches in the IPL, he’s already bagged some of the most important wickets at crucial junctures for his team.
In the 12-years long history of the cash-rich tournament, Rabada is better than every other bowler in terms of bowling average and strike rate, among those who have taken more than 30 wickets.
He has an exceptional bowling average of 17.94 and an even more incredible bowling strike rate of 13.23 in the IPL.
Speaking about Strike rates, Rabada got the best strike rate among all the bowlers (with 100+ Test Wickets) in the last decade. You can read about the bowlers who dominated the 2010s here!
