"You are playing two Test matches a year" - Makhaya Ntini says Kagiso Rabada will struggle to reach big milestones in red-ball cricket

Former South African pacer Makhaya Ntini has expressed his doubts over Kagiso Rabada's prospect of finishing with the number of wickets in line with his potential. The right-arm speedster opined that Rabada cannot reach the 400-wicket mark if Proteas play so few Tests a year.

In 2023, South Africa have played only three Tests; two of which came against the West Indies on home soil. While the Proteas play Tests against New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka in 2024, CSA is likely to send a second-string team to play the Kiwis due to the series' clash with SA20.

Speaking to PTI, Ntini doubts whether Rabada can keep going for long and reach big milestones, given how few Tests South Africa are playing every year. He said:

"He is already up there. When you talk about those guys, when you talk about those bowlers, they have passed the 400-mark and KG is chasing the 300-mark. But we have got a massive problem.

"You are playing two Test matches a year and what is that? Do you think this guy can hold up till he gets to that milestone? It's not going to be easy for the nature of games (number of matches and formats) that is being given to South Africa to play against other countries."

Rabada bowled beautifully on day 1 of the opening Test against India at Centurion. Under favourable conditions, the 28-year-old took a fifer, including the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer.

"Your country is your priority" - Makhaya Ntini

The 46-year-old also underlined the need to put country first before their franchise teams and believes it's ever more critical for youngsters like Gerald Coetzee. He added:

"No! Your country is your priority. Take the example of Kagiso. How many Test matches has he played and he still continues to play IPL. If Gerald Coetzee today thinks that he is getting a million rands and what he should do now, that will be his biggest mistake."

Coetzee, who had a stellar 2023 World Cup, was bought by the Mumbai Indians after a ₹ 5 crore bid in the recent IPL 2024 auction.