Chokers to champions: Kagiso Rabada explains how Shukri Conrad reshaped Proteas' team culture
In the past the Proteas have fallen short in ICC events when it really mattered with a team stacked with some of the greatest names in South African cricket.
Gun speedster Kagiso Rabada has been in a few of those teams who arrived at World Cups and flattered to deceive, as the legacy of the 'chocker' tag kept on growing and growing.
But in June 2025 that tag was finally shed by a bunch of players - besides Rabada of course, who are not exactly seen as world beaters, but players who contributed at the right time and the right place. They beat the arch-enemy Australia in the final of the World Test Championship at Lord's to finally break that curse.
For the current class of Proteas it's about the collective effort and a team first ethos. It's why Rabada and many of his teammates are playing the game with a smile on their faces.
'I was part of teams that had AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn. We were the number one team in the world in 2019, but we didn't even make the knockouts (of the 50-over World Cup in England),' Rabada said at a media event at Red Bull in Cape Town on Wednesday.
'I really enjoyed playing in that team, and those guys are legends. But we really don't have those guys in the team anymore.
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Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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