Ahead of the much-awaited 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, Delhi Capitals have suffered a big blow as their star-pacer Kagiso Rabada has confirmed that he will be missing the start of the league to play for the international fixtures.
Though BCCI is yet to revealed the schedule of the IPL 2021 but multiple reports claim that the T20I league will kick off in the second week of April.
Rabada, who was playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020, turned out to be the Purple Cap winner, with the highest wicket in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League. Rabada’s stellar performance helped his team to reach their maiden finale. In IPL 2020 the star bowler picked a total of 30 wickets in 17 matches he played for Delhi Capitals. And all thanks to his stellar performances, the cricketer was retained by the franchise.
Recently, in an interview with South African website iol.co.za, Kagiso Rabada earned more respect by saying that he will choose his country before the cash-rich league. In the interview, he was asked about the IPL dates that may clash with the South Africa vs Pakistan series, responding to which he prioritized playing for his country before IPL. He said:
“Country comes first and I may miss a week of the IPL if the Pakistan series is scheduled at the same time the IPL starts. Delhi has been my home in India, but national duty is a priority,”
Meanwhile, in the recently concluded IPL 2021 auction, Delhi Capitals have roped in some fast bowlers, who can replace Rabada. Delhi has acquired Umesh Yadav in their team as well as Tom Curran. Besides them, fast bowlers including the likes of Enrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Daniel Sams, Lukman Meriwala are other fast-bowlers present in Delhi.
