Kagiso Rabada includes 'pace of Shoaib Akhtar' in his perfect fast-bowler

South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada has included Pakistan’s legendary pacer Shoaib Akhtar, among all-time great bowlers that he admires.      

When asked about what qualities he would want to have from other pacers, the 25-year-old came formed a classic combination.  

“If I had to become a bowler by combining the best of all fast bowlers of all time, I’d pick the pace of Shoaib Akhtar, the bounce, line and length of Glenn McGrath, the aggression of Dale Steyn, and the swing of Jimmy Anderson. That’s the bowler I would love to be!” said Rabada.

Rabada has appeared in 142 international matches, across all three formats, since making his debut in November 2014.

He also spoke about playing behind closed, when cricket resumes, due to novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“It’s going to be bizarre to play in empty stadiums, especially during international matches. But the world has to move on. There will still be tough competition when teams play, and people can still enjoy that on TV.”

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Rabada says he is fully committed to playing for South Africa after a difficult 2019/20 season in which he felt “out of place” and incurred a one-test ban for overzealous celebration against England.

Rabada missed the crucial fourth test against England after collecting a fourth demerit point in a 24-month period for celebrating too close to visiting captain Joe Root after claiming his wicket.

“A lot of people think I have a short temper. The thing is that sledging is a part of the game. No fast-bowler is going to be nice to the batsman, but what we need to understand is that it’s never personal. After the game, you shake hands, respect each other’s crafts and move on,” he concluded.