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"Naive To Think..." Ex-Proteas Star Warns Kagiso Rabada Of Drug Ban Sledging

Jatin

Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada [Source: @rishi__w/x.com]Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada [Source: @rishi__w/x.com]

The WTC Final is here and the mind games have begun. While Australia skipper Pat Cummins insists the Aussies won’t bring up Kagiso Rabada’s drug ban, former South African batter Daryll Cullinan isn’t buying it.

Daryll Cullinan Questions Cummins’ Promise On Not Sledging Rabada Over Drug Ban

He has played the Aussies, knows their tricks and believes it would be wishful thinking to expect things to stay squeaky clean on the field.

Daryll Cullinan didn’t mince words when asked about whether Rabada should brace for some heat during the high-stakes clash at Lord’s.

“Unfortunately, Rabada is going to deal with, for the rest of his career, comments being made relating to off-the-field matters, not only on the field but also by spectators. Only he can deal with it. The best would be just to take wickets. That'll settle that side of things too, but I think it'd be naive to think that comments won't be made and his attention brought to it, but it's going to be something that he's going to have to live with for the rest of his career, even if he's taking wickets,” Cullinan told Hindustan Times.

That is straight from the shoulder. Cullinan knows that Lord’s might look like a gentleman’s ground but when the Aussies are in town and the pressure is massive and there is no guarantee that things will stay polite.

Cummins Says The Aussies Will Keep It Clean

In contrast, Pat Cummins played it cool when asked about sledging Rabada.

“It’s not really our style,” Cummins told The Guardian. “I’d be surprised if that came up.”

It is a classic Aussie move: downplay before D-Day. But Cullinan, having lived through his own battles with the Baggy Greens, is clearly not convinced. He feels it won’t just be the players, but also the Lord’s crowd that might try to get under Rabada’s skin.

Cullinan Knows The Aussie Heat

Cullinan’s words carry weight. He has been in the thick of it himself, playing 70 Tests and 138 ODIs for South Africa. He scored over 4,500 Test runs at 44.21, including 14 centuries, and 3,860 ODI runs. But there is one place he never quite cracked: Australia.

His record in the land of sledges? A mere 31 runs across seven Test innings with a top score of 10. The Aussies had his number and maybe that is why he knows exactly how ruthless they can get, especially when the stakes are sky high.

For Kagiso Rabada, the message is simple: let the ball do the talking. Because once the ball starts swinging and the wickets start tumbling, all the noise fades. But until then, Rabada has got to be ready to block out the whispers, the jabs and the crowd noise.