"Milked it like a football player" - Faf Du Plessis accuses Steve Smith of brushing shoulders with Kagiso Rabada in the 2018 series

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis has alleged Australian star batter Steve Smith 'milked' the situation during his infamous on-field contact with pacer Kagiso Rabada during the 2018 Test series. Du Plessis mentioned the episode in his autobiography, comparing Smith to a football player.

During the second Test of the series at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth, the South African speedster allegedly roared in Du Plessis' direction after trapping Smith lbw for 25 before brushing shoulders with the Aussie.

Smith immediately spun around, implicating his partner Shaun Marsh that there was contact before taking a review, which proved unsuccessful. While the ICC imposed a two-match suspension on Rabada, it was overturned following a six-hour appeal.

Meanwhile, Du Plessis wrote in his autobiography "Faf: Through Fire" :

"This episode has almost been forgotten against the backdrop of what the series still had up its sleeve, or more accurately, down its trousers. They brushed shoulders during one of KG’s overs but Smith milked it like a football player. We knew that KG was one demerit point away from a suspension."

Following Rabada's suspension reversal, Smith was unimpressed, stating that the ICC had set a precedent. The former Australian skipper stated that he would never tell his bowlers to get in their space after taking a wicket.

Nevertheless, the right-handed batter denied any animosity between the two countries ahead of the upcoming series. Rabada, meanwhile, received another suspension for the same offense against Joe Root in early 2020.

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"What’s happened has happened" - Kagiso Rabada on his heated clash with Steve Smith

Kagiso Rabada. (Image Credits: Getty)

Speaking to News Corp ahead of the first Test in Brisbane, Rabada hinted that he might not comment on the incident before his retirement. He elaborated:

"What’s happened has happened. I am not going to say anything now. After my career I might talk a bit more about it and look back at what happened. But at the moment we will move on. It was definitely a Test series I will never forget and things did not end too well off the field."

The forthcoming series will be the first Test rubber between Australia and South Africa since the ball-tampering scandal in Newlands in 2018.

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