Gujarat Titans and South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada is all set to make his return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, a month after he abruptly left the T20 league. Right when he was cleared to make his return to the cricket field, Rabada issued a statement, revealing that it was due to ‘recreational drug use’ that he was suspended from the game. Until the statement, the reason behind his absence from the IPL was labelled as a ‘personal issue’. However, former Australia captain Tim Paine isn’t happy with the way the real picture was hidden from the public.
Speaking on the SEN Radio breakfast show, Paine slammed the authorities for pushing the Rabada-drugs episode under the rug. Having already served his ban, the pacer is eligible to play for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, as well as South Africa in the World Test Championship final.
“It stinks. I don’t like this use around personal issues, and it is being used to hide stuff that isn’t a personal issue. If you have a professional sportsman who’s tested for recreational drugs during a tournament in which he is playing, that doesn’t fall under personal issues for me. That falls under you having broken your contract. That is not a personal issue; that is something that is happening in your personal life.
“Taking drugs – recreational or performance enhancing – is not a personal issue that can just be hidden for a month. A guy can be taken out of the IPL, moved back to South Africa, and we just let it slide under the rug. Then we will bring him back once he’s already served his ban,” he said.
Though it has been clarified that Rabada took recreational drugs and not performance-enhancing ones. It is still not clear what exactly he consumed. The length of his ban and the identity of the imposing authorities aren’t known either.
“Not only will he play against Australia in the world Test Championship, but he’s also available to play now in the IPL,” Paine said. “No one knew about what he’s taken, what he was given, or who the organising body that oversaw it was.
“If he is going to take drugs and be caught doing it, I think people deserve to know what he’s taken, how long he is being rubbed out for, and who sanctioned it (the suspension). People need to be held to account for stuff like that.”
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