Kagiso Rabada’s path of glory for South Africa faces roadblocks of injuries if over-bowled regularly

Kagiso Rabada bagged 7 wickets in the first innings of fourth Test against England at Centurion.

After getting pounded for the most part in the Test series so far, South Africa have finally managed to post a turnaround in the ongoing Test in Centurion. After posting a challenging 475 on the board, the hosts managed to grab a lead of 133 by restricting England to 342. The lead would have been a few notches higher had it not been for some brilliant hitting by Moeen Ali down the order. If the credit for South Africa’s resurgent batting performance goes to the trio of Quinton de Kock, Stephen Cook and Hashim Amla, then the praise for their improved bowling performance should be channelled only to the young pace sensation Kagiso Rabada. FULL SCORECARD: South Africa vs England 2015-16, 4th Test at Centurion, Day 3

The 20-year-old talent has been a blessing to South African cricket ever since he made his international debut during the tour of Australia in the 2014-15 season. By the time South Africa had won their first-ever ODIs series in India during their 2015-16 tour, Rabada was already perceived by many as one who is destined to scale dizzying heights in the years to come. With the dedication, passion and spirit that he has displayed in ODIs and T20Is, it was only a matter of time before Rabada made his way into Tests as well. UPDATES: South Africa vs England 2015-16, 4th Test at Centurion, Day 3

While his maiden Test series against India turned out to be an average affair on tracks that mostly were not supportive for pacers, he has been a sensation in this series so far, being one of the few members of the Proteas camp to deliver consistently under pressure. His performance against England in the first innings of the fourth and final Test has taken the expectations from him to a whole new level. After all, he bettered his maiden five-wicket haul with figures of seven for 112, holding the Englishmen ransom at a score of 211 for six at one stage before Moeen decided to play spoilsport for them.

Indeed, it is as if Rabada is single-handedly managing the South African bowling unit’s affairs in the absence of pace spearhead Dale Steyn. But there were signs of Rabada getting overworked during the English innings on Sunday. While Rabada might have been forced to step up due to the lack of support from the other bowlers at the other end, it is something that could cause long-term damage for him. Towards the latter stages of the innings, the youngster was barely celebrating the dismissals, and by the time Morkel got the last man dismissed, he could barely climb the stairs leading to the dressing room.

The prospect of Rabada suffering injuries in the near future is a very scary one indeed for the Proteas, who are already going through a turbulent phase in which they lost their No. 1 Test rank, and need to utilise extraordinary talents such as Rabada. The other bowlers have to step up in this regard, and give him the break that he deserves after bowling long spells. There are other factors in the regard as well, such as that of the skipper doing a better job in rotating his bowlers, and the team management and selectors doing a better job in picking their bowling combinations.

KG, as he is often referred to as, has a long and glorious path ahead, and could potentially end up as the leading South African wicket-taker across formats. Let us hope that path is free from the roadblocks of injuries.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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