Rabada won’t shed tears over batting-friendly pitches

Though bowlers are being advised to gird their loins in preparation for a six-hitting bonanza over the next month in the T20 World Cup, Kagiso Rabada has chosen to embrace the challenge of bowling on pitches that favour bat overwhelmingly over ball.

In response to an enquiry about the psychological toll bowling on flat pitches in India and Sri Lanka can have, Proteas star Rabada mused: “[You can] go to your room and cry.” On a more serious note, he added: “ It’s a good challenge. That’s how I look at it.”

Besides the politics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the major talk in the build-up to the World Cup, which starts in Colombo on Saturday, is how much bat has dominated ball in the shortest format and the prospect of a total of 300 being scored for the first time in the competition.

“You feel sorry for the bowlers,” Proteas skipper Aiden Markram said during a press briefing for some of the captains in Mumbai on Wednesday, ahead of his side’s start against minnows Canada in Ahmedabad on Monday.

“It is not an easy gig especially when you get to a country where wickets are really good, boundaries are smaller and the batters really enjoy themselves.”

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However Rabada, who has extensive IPL experience, is not anticipating surfaces to be quite so one-dimensional over the next four weeks.

“In ICC events, not all games are high scoring. You will get venues that are high scoring from time to time, but I don’t think all the pitches will be that way. There will be something for the bowlers every now and then.

“The pitches have always been like this in India. The grounds are small, the ball skids on and when the dew comes it makes it worse. The ball might swing for about two overs, but the nature of the pitches here is that they are just true. Batters can just swing through the line.

“The way T20 cricket is moving, literally everyone in a batting line-up can hit a six. I think it’s become really brutal.”

However, Rabada, who is preparing to play in his fifth T20 World Cup, pointed to advancements in data sourcing alongside statistical and video analysis as areas in which bowlers can level the playing ground.

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“It’s a case of continuing to evolve, which isn’t easy. But if you don’t evolve, the game moves ahead of you. Also, it does go vice-versa — because wickets are so flat, when there is even a bit in it for the bowlers, batters seem like they can’t cope.”

For the first portion of the tournament, it would seem big totals are likely with so many tier one nations facing associate countries. The tournament opens with Pakistan facing the Netherlands, Scotland taking on the West Indies and hosts and tournament favourites India against the US.

“We cannot take any opponent for granted. We’ll do our analysis, come up with plans and then it’s about execution,” Rabada said.

The Proteas have a tricky group that also features Afghanistan and New Zealand. They will face both at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and understanding conditions there will be crucial for Rabada and Co.

“Ahmedabad is known to suit fast bowling. It is a high scoring ground. There are different soils; black soil normally spins more, the red soil - is normally the bouncier soil.

We have to understand how best to put everything together.”