Relaxed Rabada not bothered by teammates' batting troubles

Kagiso Rabada said all the right things about respecting the opposition, not taking them lightly and wanting to continue South Africa’s winning momentum when they face Nepal in Kingstown, St Vincent.

In truth South Africa are already looking ahead to the Super Eights. One of those matches — against the West Indies on June 23 — is confirmed. By the time they take to Arnos Vale at 1.30am on Saturday (SA time), they will know who they will face in their opening Super Eights match on Wednesday. That will be either the USA or Pakistan. 

Nepal haven’t done anything to warrant concern from the South Africans. They were bowled out for 106 by the Netherlands and the only point they earned came courtesy of rain, which prevented a ball being bowled in their scheduled game against Sri Lanka.

Other than Sandeep Lamichhane, who has joined the Nepal side in St Vincent after his US visa was rejected, not much else is known about them. Lamichhane had his conviction for rape overturned shortly before the team’s departure for the tournament. 

However, he wasn’t allowed to travel to the US and instead will be in the frame for selection for the match with the Proteas. While admitting he didn’t know much about the Nepalese team, Lamichhane was a teammate of Rabada at the IPL in 2019. 

“He’s a mystery spinner and they are tough to play against,” said the 29-year-old.

“I know the guys are really looking forward to facing that challenge.”

Rather than Lamichhane or the rest of the Nepal side, SA’s focus will be on themselves and polishing those areas which troubled them during the matches in New York. The top order would like some time at the crease, and having watched Thursday’s match between the Netherlands and Bangladesh, they would have been pleased the new ball didn’t do nearly as much as was the case at the Nassau County International Stadium.

Time at the crease — in the context of a T20 match — will still be important for Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and skipper Aiden Markram before that Super Eight clash. 

“You can’t judge their form on the wickets we have just played on, you can’t blame the batters. No-one has any (mental) demons. You play the conditions as you see them,” said Rabada. 

It will be a first clash between Nepal and SA at senior level. There was a scheduled meeting at the under-19 World Cup in 2000 that was washed out.

With a few hundred Nepalese fans in Kingstown expected to outnumber whatever gathering of South Africans may have made their way to the East Caribbean island, it could have the “feel” of a home game for the Nepalese. 

“Maybe there are like 10 South African fans in St Vincent. I’m not expecting a whole lot of support,” Rabada joked.

“Maybe some of the locals can support us, and if they do, they turn out in their numbers.”