Star pacer of Gujarat Titans, Kagiso Rabada, has headed back to South Africa after exiting the current IPL 2025 season for personal reasons. The franchise doubled down on the positive nature of his departure, maintaining that while they wish him all the best, his exit will leave an obvious hole in the team’s ability to compete.

Major Setback for Gujarat Titans

Rabada’s departure comes as a massive loss for Gujarat Titans, as he has proven to be the game changer in their bowling line-up. His pace, experience and ability to take wickets have been key to the team’s campaign thus far. In his absence, the franchise will have to reassess their bowling strategy and find an effective replacement.

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The management of Gujarat Titans has backed Rabada,emphasizing that his well-being is the priority. At this stage, no definitive word on whether he will come back in the tournament or be ruled out for the rest of the IPL season. The rest of the team will likely have to scour their own ranks or hit free agency to find a band-aid replacement.

🚨 Kagiso Rabada has left the Gujarat Titans squad and returned home to South Africa for personal seasons

Full story 👉 https://t.co/tirrOoxIGQ #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/Ws6jtbkay6

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 3, 2025

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Rabada’s return to South Africa fuels speculation about his international commitments. With a packed international schedule coming up, including the 2024 T20 World Cup, it’s unclear whether he will be available for Gujarat Titans for the rest of the season or if his focus will be on national duties.

As IPL 2025 is underway, Gujarat Titans will be tested on how quickly they can adjust without their best fast bowler. Whether Rabada does come back or not, his absence will certainly be felt as the team seeks its next trophy.

Gujarat Titans (GT) were facing Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a recent IPL 2025 match, but one of their major players was missing from their team: South African pacer Kagiso Rabada. Before the match started, before the typical toss between captains, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill justified why Rabada wasn't there. Gill said nothing other than that Rabada was not playing because of "personal reasons."

WHY?This revelation sent many fans into wonder, though one mustn't forget that professional sports players, like anybody else, do have lives outside the cricket field. "Personal reasons" is a broad statement that can entail anything, and in respect to Rabada's privacy, particulars were not stated.

To replace the gap created by Rabada's non-availability, the Titans included Arshad Khan in the playing eleven. This move resulted in a change of strategy in the team's bowling, as Rabada is an integral component of their attack.The game was hosted at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which is a ground that is famous for producing high-scoring matches. Rabada's absence was surely felt, as his experience and talent are a huge asset to the Gujarat Titans.

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Kagiso Rabada is one of the world's top bowlers in the sport of cricket. He is a quick bowler who can get wickets and is a prized asset for whichever team he is playing for. As a result, his absence was something cricket fans were talking about.This is a reminder that sporting professionals have personal lives and situations that sometimes call on them to withdraw from their sporting obligations. There will be keen anticipation of Rabada's return to the Gujarat Titans team.

Playing XI

Gujarat Titans (GT): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma

Impact Substitutes: Sherfane Rutherford, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Washington Sundar

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal

Impact Substitutes: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh.

In a candid interview, South Africa's Kagiso Rabada sparked an important talk about where cricket is heading by stating, “You might as well call our sport batting and not cricket if there isn’t balance between bat and ball.” His emphasis captures an important part of the narrative the sport is gradually gravitating towards—the bias “run-scoring” phase, which is terribly disfavoring to the bowlers.

Rabada, infamous for his speed and accuracy, is convinced that the soul of cricket is fighting revolutions between bat and ball. However, bowlers today have to deal with exceedingly confident, yet inconveniently pancake-flat pitches, uninhibitedly short boundaries, and expertly crafted bats. This has been worsened by the advent of multiple T20 competitions, like the IPL, where the emphasis is largely put on boundary-filled batting shows at the expense of real bowling skill.

Rabada spitting facts 🗣️#kagisorabada #SouthAfrica #IPL2025 #Rabada #SRH pic.twitter.com/PRC7jrzWMz

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) March 26, 2025

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He demonstrates his courage in battle during the IPL season, which is the hardest for him. Rabada debuted in 2017 with Delhi Daredevils, who have since been renamed to Capitals. Since then, he has captured 118 wickets in 81 matches with an impressive strike rate of 16.3 and an economy rate of 8.36. In 2020, he won the Purple Cap for best bowler after achieving 30 wickets in 17 games. He currently plays on the team Gujarat Titans in 2025.

Also Read: Bhuvneshwar Kumar OUT of CSK vs. RCB match?

At 29, Rabada joins a chorus of purists and players condemning the diminished artistry in bowling and implores administrators to produce livelier pitches and control the gear to ensure an even match. His comments are a wake-up call, as test cricket’s essence relies on balance. Could cricket survive without it? It would definitely lose its soul. Will the authorities listen? The future is uncertain. 

Axar Patel’s brave attempt to turn the game around for India ended when Quinton de Kock’s excellent throw hit the stumps directly in the T20 World Cup 2024 final at Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29.

Axar, who was playing exceptionally well, was out for 47 runs off 31 balls just when India needed him the most. This happened in the 14th over with Kagiso Rabada bowling.

Axar Patel’s brave effort in T20 World Cup Final

A misunderstanding between the batters led to Axar being sent back. De Kock quickly moved to his left, picked up the ball cleanly, and threw it accurately at the stumps. Axar was run out and had to leave the field to applause for his great performance.

The sequence started when Rabada bowled a length ball aimed at Virat Kohli’s body. Kohli tried to hit it to the leg side but missed, and the ball hit his thigh pad and rolled to de Kock’s left. Seeing Axar too far out of his crease, de Kock took the chance and threw the ball perfectly at the stumps.

The ball then deflected off the stumps and went towards the boundary between long-off and extra cover, but the replay showed that Axar was out of his ground.

Twitter reactions:

India’s resilient batting and South Africa’s steady response

Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat first paid off initially as he and Virat Kohli started India’s innings aggressively, scoring 15 runs off the opening over. However, South Africa struck back swiftly with Keshav Maharaj dismissing Rohit Sharma (9 off 5) and Rishabh Pant (0 off 2) in quick succession. KG Rabada added to India’s woes by sending Suryakumar Yadav back to the pavilion for just 3 runs near the end of the powerplay.

Despite the early setbacks, Kohli and Axar Patel steadied the innings with a mature partnership, adapting well to the conditions and capitalizing on loose deliveries to keep the scoreboard ticking. Their stand was crucial until Axar Patel fell short of his crease due to a sharp run-out by Quinton de Kock, ending their partnership at 74 runs. Kohli continued to anchor India’s innings, scoring a valuable 76 off 59 balls, supported later by Shivam Dube’s brisk 27 off 16 balls. Despite losing a few quick wickets towards the end, India managed to set a competitive total, crossing the 175-run mark.

South Africa, in response, started steadily, reaching 42/2 at the end of six overs. They lost early wickets but Quinton de Kock and Luke Stubbs stabilized their innings, aiming to build a solid foundation for their chase as they approached the middle overs.

SEE ALSO: Why is Prafull Billore, aka ‘MBA Chai Wala’, supporting South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 Final?