South African bowler Kagiso Rabada has said that the ‘media gives hype to certain players’ after his constant comparison with England’s Jofra Archer and India’s Jasprit Bumrah. But he thinks he is not bothered about being overshadowed by them and wants to be the best in the world.
Bumrah and Archer both have performed extremely well since the start of this year, as the England pacer played a crucial role in his team’s maiden World Cup triumph and is currently performing well with the ball against Australia in the Ashes. Whereas, Bumrah has strengthened himself to become the No.1 ODI bowler and topped the wickets tally in the 2019 ICC World Cup. He continued his form in the Test matches as well when he took 13 wickets to complete India’s 2-0 series win against West Indies.
For Rabada, however, the year has been rough so far as South Africa finished seventh in the World Cup and he could manage to take only 11 wickets in nine matches.
In an interview with iol.co.za Rabada said, "I admire those bowlers, they are good bowlers. However, the media hypes certain players, and that's okay.”
“I know I have been playing very well. Archer is such a natural talent; Bumrah is doing wonders, and that can force you to lift your game. You are not always at the top, that's one thing I can tell you," he added.’
"It's never easy maintaining a career. I've learned that there are a lot of ups and downs. I want to be the best in the world, everybody does. You are naturally going to compete in that fashion, I'm not too worried, I'm feeling nice and easy.”
"I'm disappointed, not angry [about the World Cup]. What do I do with anger? When a setback comes, you want to be determined, you don't want to change a lot of things. It's about seeing where you went wrong and then putting in extra work," he concluded.
South Africa will be playing three T20Is and three Tests on their tour to India, starting from 15th September.
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Saeed Khan
