Kagiso Rabada question facing Aussies ahead of World Test Championship final

He is ripe for a decent sledge, but the decision on whether or not to poke South African pace ace Kagiso Rabada over his drug ban is a tactical dilemma facing Australia ahead of the World Test Championship.

Australia faces a tactical dilemma over whether to poke the bear and sledge Kagiso Rabada over a drug ban which could be the forerunner to a shock change to sport’s doping laws.

The last time the South African superstar dodged a Test suspension it sent the Australians into a suffocating rage that fueled the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal.

On that occasion Rabada was set to be banned for the now notorious Cape Town Test for making physical contact with Australian skipper Steve Smith, only to have his sanction sensationally overturned on appeal.

The Australians were furious at what they perceived to be a home town stitch up and it was this mindset which contributed to the most fateful act in cricket history, as Rabada rallied to take four first innings wickets at Newlands.

This time around the circumstances are very different, and while no one is getting hot under the collar about Rabada’s slap on the wrist for testing positive to cocaine, there have certainly been a few eyebrows raised over how the process has played out.

South African Test ace Kagiso Rabada played for Gujarat Titans in the IPL. Picture: AFP

Former Australian captain Tim Paine slammed the attempted cover-up behind Rabada’s ban, with his forced withdrawal from the Indian Premier League explained away as “personal reasons” until a local South African journalist got onto the story and forced Proteas officials to go public.

Mystery still surrounds how Rabada managed to convince SAIDS (South African Institute for Drug-Free Sports) that he took the recreational drug out of competition when he returned a positive test following a match between MI Cape Town and Durban Super Giants at Kingsmead on January 23.

It was on this technicality that Rabada was able to get his suspension reduced from two years to three months – and then ultimately down to one-month when he agreed to participate in a counselling program.

The upshot is that Rabada has now already served his one-month penance and is free to tackle Australia in the World Test Championship at Lord’s starting on June 11.

Although doubt is always cast on lenient drug penalties, the reality is WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) wouldn’t have signed off on Rabada’s one-month ban if it had any issue with the process followed.

Kagiso Rabada has long been a thorn in Australia’s side. Picture: Getty Images

Rabada must have provided sufficient proof that he’d taken the drug outside the designated window for match-day competition.

Drugs in sport is a legal and medical minefield.

New Zealand cricketer Doug Bracewell also got away with a one-month ban after testing positive to cocaine.

There is speculation that WADA’s next update of its doping laws may look to eradicate the discrepancy between two year and one month bans for cocaine and standardise a one-two month suspension.

Australian sports such as the AFL and NRL have a three-strikes policy on recreational drugs - but that only exists for out-of-competition testing and players’ names are suppressed until the third strike.

South Africa's Kagiso Rabada managed to avoid a two-year ban, instead serving a one-month suspension. Picture: AFP

All Australian sporting codes follow the WADA protocols which tests for cocaine on match days, but not out-of-competition.

Sydney Kings player Xavier Cooks recently missed the NBL finals after he copped a one-month ban because like Rabada, he tested positive for cocaine on the day of a game.

There is a growing belief that two year bans for a non performance-enhancing drug in 2025 seems over-the-top.

Rabada has had to endure the shame of being publicly outed which seems punishment in itself in this day and age when recreational drugs are so commonplace across society.

Certainly Australia’s path to a WTC title defence would have been much easier without 300-wicket demon Rabada in the South African line-up.

In the right conditions at Lord’s, Rabada and South African left-armer Marco Jansen have the potential to cause massive problems for Australia’s top order.

Rabada will be hoping Australia do get stuck into him with some verbal barbs over the controversy, but the landscape has changed very much since 2018 and even if Australia still was a sledging team, the South African firebrand may well be on a list of feared players’ you don’t dare risk firing up by provoking.

Originally published as Kagiso Rabada question facing Aussies ahead of World Test Championship final