Rabada warns Proteas to be ready for Australia’s firepower in Champions Trophy clash

Kagiso Rabada believes the Proteas will need to have “their wits about them” when they face Australia in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy clash on Tuesday.

Australia showcased their world-champion status over the weekend by chasing down a record 352 with five wickets and 15 balls to spare against arch-rivals England.

The Proteas are equally full of confidence after their comprehensive victory over Afghanistan in the Group B opener in Karachi. However, Rabada knows the intensity will rise when these two great rivals meet in Rawalpindi.

“Australia will be a different challenge—obviously a higher quality of batters, that’s pretty obvious,” Rabada said on Sunday.

“We'll have to adjust to the conditions in Rawalpindi, so we'll take a good look at what the pitch will do in tomorrow's game. I think we might be on the same pitch, but we’ll need to adapt. We watched the game yesterday to see how they're going. It seems like they did pretty well to chase 350-plus.

“Australia didn't hit many sixes; they hit a lot of fours. That tells you how good the pitches are and how quick the outfield is.

“You’re just going to have to have your wits about you, especially when defending what you may think is a good score,” he added.

Rabada, often a slow starter in major tournaments before finding his rhythm later on, hit his stride immediately in the Afghanistan encounter, delivering a controlled spell of 3/36 in 8.3 overs.

He charged in with plenty of energy, hit hard lengths, and even had time to exchange a few words with Ibrahim Zadran after uprooting the Afghan opener’s middle stump.

Apart from that brief show of aggression—which isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially with a major clash against Australia coming up—Rabada primarily played with a smile on his face.

It seems to be a continuation of his persona during the recent SA20, where he was highly motivated to drive his team, MI Cape Town, to their first-ever championship title.

Rabada credits his refreshed body and mind to a period last year when he was used sparingly in international white-ball cricket, allowing him to focus on leading the Test team to the World Test Championship final.

“I think workload management has played a large role. The more you play, it’s not always going to go your way,” Rabada said. “When it doesn’t go your way, you can get mentally fatigued from the continuous repetition. You end up starting to not enjoy it.

“The rest definitely helped. It allowed me to, first of all, get away from the game, then plan around it and set some goals for myself. That helped.

“Have I had a say?

“I think I have.

“But I also think there has been some proactivity from management and Cricket South Africa. It’s been hand-in-hand communication. Getting away from the game definitely played a huge role.”

While Rabada was reenergizing, the Proteas white-ball teams fielded primarily second-choice attacks in bilateral series.

This led to a disappointing record, with Rob Walter’s team winning just one series—against Ireland—since the last World Cup in India in 2023.

But Rabada feels that with all the senior players back for the Champions Trophy, the Proteas are a formidable force once again.

“I wasn’t too worried about that Pakistan series; things did seem a bit all over the place,” he said.

“The results suggested otherwise—2-0, 3-0—but I wasn’t too concerned. Some of the other guys weren’t either.

“When everyone’s back and the senior players are together, there’s more stability. It wasn’t a surprise that we performed the way we did. We just turned it up, and hopefully, we can keep going in a similar vein for the rest of the competition.”