The bowling of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje in the Indian Premier League should be giving South African cricket fans something to smile about in dark times.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
With the tournament expected to be dominated by slower bowlers these express pacemen have carved out a niche for themselves in the Delhi Capitals lineup and look to have made the franchise IPL title contenders.
The T20 World Cup in India will be the next major ICC event after the 2020 edition of the tournament set to be held in Australia was cancelled, and the bowling of Rabada and Nortje on slower surfaces should delight everyone in the Proteas setup.
There have been other encouragements from the tournament, like the increasing maturity of Quinton de Kock and the return to form of Faf du Plessis but in many ways, the dual successes of the South African fast bowlers at the Capitals should generate the most buzz.
Consistently winning and turning T20 matches is something that not a lot of bowlers can do but Rabada and Nortje zeroed in on what they need to do and relished the time learning from coach Ricky Ponting and the melting pot of an IPL squad.
Both Rabada and Nortje have reacted very well when they have seen a batsman take them on, and took 19 wickets between them in the first five matches of the Capitals campaign.
If these two remain fit, it will allow South Africa to pencil their names into the attack for all their big T20I encounters for years to come.
The fast bowlers have shown that they can adapt to different conditions very quickly and their teachability has been noted.
Both Rabada and Nortje have come through in big moments and provided match-turning wickets; now they just need to show that they can do the same when it really counts.
Rabada and Nortje will be key men at the T20 World Cup.
Written by James Richardson for Hollywoodbets.
