South AfricaBowler
Kagiso Rabada first drew wide attention at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, where his 6/25 against Australia, delivered at speeds in the mid-140s, stood out. South Africa reached the final, and he finished as the team's leading wicket-taker. Back home, the Highveld Lions signed him, and with guidance from Gordon Parsons, Chris Morris and Lonwabo Tsotsobe he progressed quickly, earning a South Africa A trip to Australia.
His senior international bow came in a T20 against Australia in November 2014, with Glenn Maxwell as his first scalp. Soon after, on ODI debut against Bangladesh, he claimed a hat-trick and returned 6 for 16, which the source calls the best figures ever recorded by a debutant in the format. With Dale Steyn injured, he featured on the 2015 tour of India, impressing in the ODIs, including a tight final over at Indore against MS Dhoni with 5 dot balls. A Test debut followed in that series, though spin-friendly pitches limited his role.
In England he collected three five-wicket hauls across six innings, and he contributed heavily to a 2-1 series win in Australia. He can swing the ball, favours seam movement using scrambled-seam deliveries, and has the pace to reverse it. His discipline has drawn scrutiny: he has been sanctioned under the ICC Code of Conduct several times, and in the 2018 home series against Australia a ban for making shoulder contact with Steven Smith was overturned on appeal. In that match he took 11 wickets as South Africa levelled the series 1-1.
Rabada led the attack at the 2019 World Cup and later partnered Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen after Morne Morkel and Steyn retired. He averages under 30 in both Tests and ODIs, became South Africa's first T20I World Cup hat-trick taker against England in 2021, and took a five-wicket haul at Lord's in 2022.
In the IPL, Delhi signed him for Rs. 5 crore in 2017 and retained him for 4.2 crore at the 2019 auction using a right-to-match card. He took 25 wickets in 2019 and 30 in 2020, winning the Purple Cap as Delhi reached their first final, before managing 15 in 2021. Delhi released him ahead of the 2022 mega auction, and Punjab Kings acquired him.
Whole career as published by the platform's source · as of 27 Oct 2026
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 200s | 50s | 0s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 75 | 111 | 21 | 1,102 | 71 | 12.24 | 2,131 | 51.71 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 139 | 20 |
| ODI | 106 | 45 | 18 | 401 | 31 | 14.85 | 507 | 79.10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 12 |
| T20I | 79 | 30 | 17 | 184 | 22 | 14.15 | 159 | 115.73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 6 |
| Format | Mat | Balls | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Avg | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 75 | 13,646 | 445 | 7,602 | 346 | 7/112 | 13/144 | 21.97 | 3.34 | 39.4 | 16 | 17 | 4 |
| ODI | 106 | 5,444 | 63 | 4,613 | 168 | 6/16 | 6/16 | 27.46 | 5.08 | 32.4 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| T20I | 79 | 1,697 | 3 | 2,378 | 83 | 3/18 | 3/18 | 28.65 | 8.41 | 20.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |