Kagiso Rabada expresses regret: Gujarat Titans
Kagiso Rabada (AP Photo)
MUMBAI: Kagiso Rababa hit his stride in the
Gujarat Titans
nets on Monday as if he was never away. Back with the team after serving a 30-day ban for using
recreational drugs
, the South African pacer will be available for GT's crucial game against
Mumbai Indians
today.
Rabada was first to hit the nets and bowled close to half an hour before moving around for chats with GT coach
Ashish Nehra
and MI owner Akash Ambani, among others. Vikram Solanki, GT director of cricket, was happy to have Rabada back in the fold as the team chases a playoff berth.
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"Kagiso will be available for the match," confirmed Solanki, before adding: "Kagiso has expressed regret for an error in judgement. He is looking forward to getting back to playing the game he loves. He will take his lessons from this. And we're just looking forward to having him back."
Who's that IPL player?
According to a statement issued by South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS), Rabada failed a dope test on Jan 21 during a SAT20 match and he was notified about it on April 1. Subsequently, on April 3, GT said that Rabada had returned to South Africa for "personal reasons".
Rabada, on May 3, had revealed about the positive drug test after serving a monthlong suspension and undergoing educational programmes during that time.
IT STINKS:
TIM PAINE
Former Australia captain Tim Paine had earlier slammed the lack of transparency surrounding Rabada.
"It stinks. I don't like this use around personal issues, and it being used to hide stuff that isn't a personal issue," Paine told 'SEN Radio' on Monday. "If you have a professional sportsman that's tested for recreational drugs during a tournament in which he is playing, that doesn't fall under personal issues for me. That falls under you have broken your contract. That is not a personal issue, that is something that is happening in your personal life.
"Taking drugs – recreational or performance enhancing – is not a personal issue that can just be hidden for a month. A guy can be taken out of the IPL, moved back to South Africa and we just let it slide under the rug. Then we will bring him back once he's already served his ban."
According to
WADA code
, the quantum of punishment for usage of recreational drug could be anything between three months to four years.
(Inputs from PTI in Sydney)
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