As the Australian pace trio dominated the Protea batsmen in Durban, South African captain Temba Bavuma and head coach Shukri Conrad must have been wondering what they could give to have their pace spearhead, Kagiso Rabada, on the field.
Rabada has been out of action since the conclusion of the IPL 2026 at the end of May due to a major hamstring injury.
Even as Anrich Nortje returned to Test cricket and bowled thunderbolts in Durban, Rabada’s absence as the leader of South Africa’s pace attack was conspicuous in the SA vs AUS 1st Test, where the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.
In Australia’s first innings, South Africa had Australia struggling at 124/6. However, from thereon, they were unable to topple Matt Renshaw, who went on to make 190 with solid support of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.
The Australian bowlers backed Renshaw’s effort and gained a lead of over 100 runs. With their noses well ahead in the contest, the Aussies whacked 314/6 declared in 58 overs in their second innings to set up a mountainous target, while South Africa failed to bat out day 5, going down by 214 runs.
SA vs AUS: Will Kagiso Rabada Play In 2nd Test Against Australia?
Captain Bavuma said that Rabada “is very good” in terms of recovering from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the field for the last four months. Bavuma reckoned Rabada’s exclusion from the 1st Test was only “precautionary.”
Given the state of the series, with South Africa down 1-0, Rabada is likely to return and play in the South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test, which begins on October 18 in Gqeberha.
Bavuma said at the post-match press conference, “KG looks good. I think SuperSport kept showing him on the big screen bowling. He’s bubbly as ever within the changing room. And his non-selection was more from a precautionary point of view to give him the extra couple of days. So now he’s got the extra couple of days. We’ll see how he continues to improve. But KG is very good.”
Rabada’s potential return in the 2nd Test will be a huge fillip to the Proteas’ bowling attack, which fell flat against Australia’s lower-order and Renshaw in the first innings and was played along comfortably by the Aussies in their second innings.
Rabada, however, hasn’t played any professional cricket since May 31. So for him to hit the intensity and discipline straightaway in the 2nd Test will be a challenge for the experienced fast bowler.
If given the green signal, Rabada will replace either Anrich Nortje or Simon Harmer. Nortje had an extensive workload in Durban, bowling 40 overs in the match, while Harmer had little success, picking up two wickets across 53 overs.
When and where is South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test?
The SA vs AUS 2nd Test is scheduled to kick off on October 18 at St George’s Park, Gqeberha. It will start at 10:00 AM local / 8:00 AM GMT / 1:30 PM Indian Time (IST).
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