All about the reality of Kagiso Rabada suspension

The cricketing world received a very shocking news on Saturday as South Africa's premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was handed a provisional suspension by the Cricket South Africa (CSA) after testing positive for a recreational drug. It has reportedly been revealed that the Proteas speedster used the prohibited drug during the last season of the SA20 competition where he was representing the MI Cape Town team. Incidentally, Rabada was recently playing for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) season, before returning home midway through the competition and there wasn't any official confirmation about the exact reasoning on his absence. 

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have finally broken the silence and released an official statement on Kagiso Rabada's provisional suspension, clearing their policies and how they are completely against the usage of such prohibited substances in both the professional as well as amateur cricket. The South African Cricket Board further noted that the pace bowler has accepted his mistake and won't repeat the same in future. However, nothing is confirmed as of now on the time span of his provisional suspension. 

"Cricket South Africa (CSA) can confirm that Proteas Men right arm fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has returned an adverse analytical finding for the use of a prohibited substance. The incident is regrettable, however, Rabada has reassured CSA and his fans of his commitment to upholding professional standards and has restated his passion to the sport of cricket and the country he represents with purpose," read a statement by CSA. 

"CSA is fully committed to drug-free sport and reminds cricket players, both professional and amateur, of the importance of adhering to all regulations. We are steadfast in our support to all players in this regard," added CSA.

The recent reports reveal that Kagiso Rabada will now be returning to India for the Indian Premier League 2025 season where he will resume his duties for the Gujarat Titans. Before leaving the season midway, the right-arm fast bowler had picked up a couple of wickets from as many matches for the Shubman Gill-led GT team. He was bought by the Gujarat Titans during the IPL 2025 mega auction at a whopping price of INR 10.75 Crore. 

Sources have also stated that Kagiso Rabada will be available for the all-important South Africa vs Australia ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final 2025 scheduled to begin from 11 June, 2025 at the Lord's. South Africa will definitely want their premier pace bowler to be ready for the penultimate encounter at the biggest stage and therefore, he will be serving a certain time span of suspension before being available for selection. 

"Rabada has not played a match since the end of March, while the exact length of his sanction has not been confirmed. However, it’s understood that Rabada’s ‘ban’ is expected to be within the range of a single month, and some of this looks to have been effectively served already. It means Rabada should soon be back in action, and there is no threat that it could impact his participation in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June," read the report.