Former Australian captain Tim Paine asserted that the case shouldn’t have been “kept under the rug” and was among the former cricket players who voiced their dissatisfaction with the way the case is being handled.
Kagiso Rabada, one of the Gujarat Titans’ best pacers, was recently suspended for recreational drug use, dealing them a serious setback. But after a month, it appears that the South African will return to the IPL 2025.
Although this should be excellent news for the franchise, several experts have criticised the authorities who handled the matter and expressed their unhappiness at the fact that this issue was kept secret from the public.
“It is foul-smelling. This usage around private matters bothers me, and it’s being used to conceal things that aren’t private. For me, it doesn’t qualify as a personal issue if a professional athlete is tested for recreational drugs while competing in a tournament. That is considered a breach of contract on your part. That is something that is occurring in your own life; it is not a personal matter.
Recreational or performance-enhancing drug use is not a private matter that can be put on hold for a month. We simply ignore it when a player is removed from the IPL and relocated back to South Africa. On the SEN Radio breakfast show, Paine stated, “After he has completed his ban, we will bring him back.”
In addition to playing against Australia in the World Test Championship, he is currently eligible to play in the Indian Premier League. Nobody was aware of what he had been given or taken, or who was in charge of coordinating it. I believe that if he is going to use drugs and is caught, people should be aware of what he has taken, how long he has been suspended, and who approved of it. For things like that, people must be held accountable,” the former Australian Test captain continued.
Regarding Rabada’s IPL career, he has participated in 82 games thus far and claimed 119 wickets at a 22.29 average. The 2020 season was his best, during which he played for the Delhi Capitals (DC) and claimed 30 wickets at an average of 18.26 in 17 games.
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