Kagiso Rabada strikes terror, will he be a 'Capital' gain for Delhi?  

T20 is batsman’s game, as most of the time, bowlers are at the receiving end of the action but South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada is a different breed. A few bowlers like Mohammad Shami, Sam Curran, Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult do get to shine in this format but the one who is making the right moves is Kagiso Rabada.

The South African is a man with great intensity and commitment to the game. Last season, Kagiso Rabada played 12 games and took 25 wickets with an economy of 7.2. This year, his performances are getting even better.

Rabada, who is the Delhi Capitals’ most consistent and potent force, has a strike rate of 10.14, which is better than last year’s 11.28, and he has already taken seven wickets from three games. His numbers are bound to improve as the tournament progresses because of the sheer brilliance the South African pacer is showing in the Middle East.

Kagiso Rabada is quick, smart, tall, lanky, and also has a well-directed bouncer to surprise even the most in-form batsman in the competition. He is so good that if he wasn’t playing for the Delhi Capitals, his franchise may not make it to the play-off stages like they did last year.

It’s not about taking away credit from the Delhi Capitals batsmen and rest of the bowling unit, but Kagiso Rabada adds so much value to his team that this year they can actually dream of winning the IPL.

Last year, the Delhi franchise lost out at the play-off stages because Rabada had returned back to South Africa. Will Rabada staying till the end this year help the Delhi Capitals? Only time will tell.

People shouldn't forget how Rabada, when he burst onto the scene as a young fast bowler, stopped MS Dhoni. Rabada stopped Dhoni, one of the greatest finishers of the shorter format of the game, from scoring nearly 10 runs before getting his wicket.

From that series against India, Rabada has grown from strength to strength. “I keep things simple. I don’t worry much about who is in front of me. I love bowling and I keep doing that with the best intentions,” Rabada said when this writer met him at the Global T20 players’ auction in Cape Town in 2017.