Kagiso Rabada heaps praise on Virat Kohli; calls him the best batsman in limited-overs

The Indian team will be preparing itself for tough competition from South Africa when they face off in 3 T20Is and 3 Tests beginning on 15th September. South Africa has not had a good time in Test matches even at home, losing to Sri Lanka in what was their first-ever series win by an Asian country in the rainbow nation. The Proteas also failed to live up to expectations in the ICC World Cup 2019, finishing on the seventh spot.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will be their main weapon against the mighty Indian batting attack which won remained drew the T20I series, won the ODI and Test series in Australia, before routing West Indies in their own backyard. And he understood that the major threat will be Indian captain Virat Kohli, whom he praised heavily.

He is a proven best batsman in white-ball cricket, says Rabada about Kohli

“Virat Kohli has proven that he is the best batsman in white-ball format. He is already regarded as a great of the game with some pedigree. Playing him is an opportunity to test yourself as a player. I think he is a fighter and at the end of the day, we would like to go and express ourselves and not have any fear. Have fun, play hard and just enjoy the battle with the world’s best batter,” Rabada was quoted as saying by India Today.

This time, however, the Quinton de Kock-led T20I team and Faf du Plessis led Test team will be looking forward to doing better than their 2015 tour. The Proteas had won the T20I and ODI series impressively but were routed in the Test series on sharp turning pitches. This time they will be without Hashim Amla or AB de Villiers or Imran Tahir or even Faf du Plessis in the T20I squad makes their task more difficult.

Rabada felt that there will be some debuts given to the players and called this phase a transition phase without the senior players in the team. “You need to look at the transition phase in a positive way. I am glad that I am playing with guys that I have played at school at the age-group level and that’s fascinating for me. There will be a few debuts. Players who have not played against an Indian team, especially such good quality. We are going to see where we are at here. We believe we are going to win. It’s exciting and we are going to have fun,” he further added.

Rabada, along with Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer has become the terrific trio of the current bowling scenes on the lines of the fab four of batting which includes Kohli, Root, Smith, and Williamson. He says that there is healthy competition around and he has admired Bumrah and Archer bowling so well recently.

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