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'Call It Batting, Not Cricket,' GT's Rabada Takes Fiery Dig At High-Scoring IPL 2025 Pitches

Soumyajit Dutta

Kagiso Rabada in action [Source: AP]Kagiso Rabada in action [Source: AP]

IPL has seen an effective transformation in batting. From the past two to three years, the league has been called out several times because of the flat decks and the batting-friendly pitches which rack up scores like 300 very often.

In the current season too, the six-fest is ongoing with bowlers having very little impact on the game. Kagiso Rabada, South Africa's pace spearhead and Gujarat Titans' quick has spoken about this parity sharing his honest views about IPL pitches.

Kagiso Rabada Takes Dig At Flat IPL Pitches

In an exclusive talk with Times Of India, Kagiso Rabada opened up on the brutal bowler pitches that IPL surface out. On being asked that last season IPL saw 1260 sixes from batters and what Rabada's opinion is on this consistent run flows over 250s the pacer remained brutally honest.

"If wickets become too flat, then you might as well not call it cricket. You could just call it batting. 'Let's go play a game of batting, guys.' It can't get too flat. What's the point? It becomes way too generic."

He further added that he is not against high-scoring games but repeated flat tracks will be a turndown for cricket fans.

"I don't mind higher-scoring games. You need those in cricket. But if conditions are too flat too often, then what's the fun in that? There's no point."

Kagiso Rabada has been one of the most formidable fast bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since making his debut in 2017. Rabada played for Delhi Capitals from 2017 to 2021, where he established himself as a key strike bowler. 

His breakthrough season came in 2020 when he won the Purple Cap after taking 30 wickets in 17 matches, helping Delhi reach their maiden IPL final. 

After his successful stint with DC, he moved to Punjab Kings in 2022, where he continued his wicket-taking prowess, picking up 23 wickets in his debut season with the franchise. Ahead of IPL 2025, Gujarat Titans acquired Rabada for INR 10.75 crore to bolster their bowling attack.

Rabada's Numbers In IPL

Rabada's IPL career numbers highlight his dominance as a fast bowler. In 82 matches, he has bowled 1,866 deliveries, taking 119 wickets at an impressive average of 22.29 and a strike rate of 15.68. His economy rate of 8.53 reflects his ability to maintain pressure on batters despite playing in high-scoring conditions. 

However, though the current season is not going great for Rabada, as he already conceded more than 80 runs in his two IPL matches, he will aim to salvage his numbers in GT's next game against RCB on April 2 at Chinnaswamy.