'It’s very disappointing' - Mark Boucher opens up on Kagiso Rabada’s ban

At a time when the entire community of cricket is out discussing the ban imposed on Kagiso Rabada, the former South African wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher also opened up on the issue, putting forth his point of view on this incident.

For the uninitiated, the South African pacer, Kagiso Rabada was recently handed a Test match ban along with a fine by the International Cricket Council. The move came in after Rabada, during a Test match, after getting the wicket of Joe Root, went onto to celebrate in a manner that was considered to be proactive by the ICC. Subsequently, people from across the globe poured in their opinions on the matter.

Finally, Mark Boucher also decided to speak up on the matter. Boucher came out in defence of Rabada and said that in such situations when two Test-playing nations are competing against each other, things are bound to get heated.

“I am concerned, to be honest… you don’t want to take all the aggression out of test cricket. You’ve got two countries playing hard cricket against each other. I understand where there ICC are going with it and hopefully, they find a balance that they don’t take the emotion out of the game because I think there is still a big part for that in the game of cricket,” said Boucher as quoted by IndiaToday.

Mark Boucher is concerned regarding Kagiso Rabada’s absence

Boucher also clearly stated his stand on Rabada’s celebration and said that according to him, there was absolutely nothing wrong with his style of celebration. Recalling his days of play, Boucher told that at that time, the players could say anything they wanted to and got away with it.

The former South Africa wicketkeeper also said that nothing can be done now, as the referee has made up his mind. And, the handing of demerit points would mean Rabada missing out the next Test match. Rabada already had demerit points to his name, and the addition of more has resulted in the ban

Expressing his concern on Rabada’s absence Boucher said, “He’s a world-class performer especially at the Wanderers where he will be very effective. It’s very disappointing.” He also added that Rabada is a team man and this incident brings Boucher great disappointment and this incident is something that has to be addressed on a bigger stage.

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