'I'll never be 'Mr-I-Apologise-Too-Much': Kagiso Rabada pacer opens up on suspension after banned drug use

Gujarat Titans (GT) and South Africa's star pacer Kagiso Rabada has addressed his recent one-month suspension for recreational drug use. He confirmed that he has cleared the air with his national teammates as much as possible and is prepared to discuss the incident further, should it be necessary, before their inaugural ICC World Test Championship final in London during the second week of June.

Kagiso Rabada isn't over apologetic about drug suspension

Rabada completed a one-month suspension in April. Following this, the South African Institute for Drug Free Sports (SAIDS) announced that he had served his ban and also completed an education and awareness program aimed at preventing future substance abuse.

“I think I owe it to them [to talk about what happened] – they’re my team-mates. We’ve come from so far, you know, and to my closest people I owe it to them. Look, this is not an ideal situation. I don’t need too many pats on the back here. I’m going to be joining with them again. I’ve already spoken to them and I guess we can do so in more detail when we get together for an extended amount of time,” Rabada told reporters.

Rabada, who was playing for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025 season, chose to return home to South Africa at the end of March. The 30-year-old pacer made this decision to serve out his one-month suspension and alleviate the mental burden as much as possible. He then rejoined GT in May, where he featured in two more matches.

“It led me to a bit of introspection about myself, and I took some time away from the game. I think the biggest thing I took away from it is having gratitude for playing the game that we love. I’m just glad to be playing again… the process was handled really well,” Rabada added.

“The decision to come back early [from the IPL] was brilliant, and that’s a decision that I made. I could have tried to contest it and whatnot, but coming home was the best option, and I was in good hands. All the parties that were involved made the whole process smooth," he further stated.

Rabada is sorry about the whole incident, but he made it clear that he wouldn't be overly apologetic about the incident.

"As you would have seen in my statement there are some people who would have been disappointed. And to those people I’m deeply sorry. The people closest to me are the ones I felt I let down. But life moves on. I’ll never be ‘Mr-I-Apologise’ too much. But I’ll never condone that action.