Speaking ahead of a two Test match series against Sri Lanka on home soil, Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada expressed his confidence saying that South Africa has what it takes to go all the way and win the Test Championship.
The first of two Test matches will get underway at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban on Wednesday, followed by the second Test at St Georges Park less than a week later.
South Africa’s Test Championship hopes will rest solely on them, and their route to the final is fairly straight forward, as nothing but victories in all their remaining fixtures will confirm their qualification, irrespective of what happens elsewhere.
They will come up against a Sri Lankan side that has been in good form, and they return to the shores of South Africa with good memories from their previous tour, where they walked away with a 2-0 series win from the same host venues.
Sri Lanka also has a chance to sneak into the final, but they will need to repeat their 2019 performance against the Proteas to keep their hopes in check.
A large number of their players have not been taking part in the ongoing One Day International series against New Zealand back in Sri Lanka, and they have been hard at work with former South African batter and consultant Neil McKenzie in a pre-series camp in Durban in preparation for the two Tests.
Right-arm fast bowler Kagiso Rabada told Independent Newspapers that the surfaces in Durban and Gqeberha could offer a spin challenge for the Proteas but also believes that they have what it takes to go all the way to the final and win the tournament.
“It’s going to be challenging, and we are playing them in KZN and also in St Georges Park, and those wickets can turn. We know the threat they (Sri Lanka) possess, and the last time they came here, they actually beat us 2-0, so we won’t take anything for granted,” said Rabada.
“We back ourselves, and at home we should beat them, but we know it will not be easy. We have what it takes to win it; we keep proving it, and now we must prove it against them.”
Rabada joined an exclusive club of South African bowlers to have picked up 300 and more wickets in the recent series against Bangladesh, which the Proteas won by 2-0 last month.
The right-arm fast bowler picked up nine wickets in the first Test against the Tigers to become only the sixth South African bowler to pick up 300 or more Test wickets. Currently on 313 Rabada will be 17 wickets shy of Allan Donald's fourth spot when the first Test gets underway.
At 28, he is focused on his game, and he is not looking too far ahead of himself despite his potential to break some of the high-class records ahead of him.
“I'm not really thinking about that, actually; I am just taking it one step at a time. I’m not even thinking of how long I am going to keep playing for; all I’m thinking about is taking it year by year.”
Rabada will have a new home in the Indian Premier League after he was scooped up by the Gujarat Titans in the player auction held yesterday in Jeddah for Rs 10.75 crore (R23 million). The Proteas bowler leaves the Punjab Kings since joining up with them in the 2022 season.
Other notable movements saw the hard-hitting David Miller join the Lucknow Super Giants from the Titans for Rs 7.5 crore (R16 million). Miller was part of the former champions for the past three seasons.