Kagiso Rabada is playing for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025
The South African pacer ended up getting banned from the Indian Premier League for a month. It wasn’t something he did intentionally, but it still counted as breaking the rules. His absence was a big blow to his team, as he is one of the top fast bowlers in the league. But what exactly happened that led to Rabada’s ban? Let’s find out the full story.
With South African players shining in the Indian T20 League, a surprising incident involving Kagiso Rabada grabbed attention as the star fast bowler, playing for Gujarat Titans, left the tournament on April 3, 2025, after just two matches and at the time, the team said he was returning home to South Africa to handle a “personal matter”, leaving fans wondering when or if he’d be back. It was later revealed that Rabada had tested positive for a recreational drug, leading to a provisional suspension. In the statement, the report stated:
Mr. Rabada tested positive for a Substance of Abuse and was subsequently notified of the allegation of his doping offence on 1 April 2025 and a provisional suspension was imposed and Mr. Rabada returned immediately to South Africa from India.
The issue started during the SA20 tournament in January-February 2025, where Rabada played for MI Cape Town and reports suggest he failed a drug test during this period, though the exact substance wasn’t disclosed and the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS), which follows World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, handled the case and while the length of the suspension wasn’t officially confirmed initially, Rabada missed all matches since March 29, 2025. Now, he has since returned to India, and his comeback to cricket is expected soon and in a heartfelt statement through the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), Rabada apologized to his fans, teammates, and everyone he felt he had disappointed as he said:
As has been reported, I recently returned to South Africa from participating in the IPL for personal reasons. This was due to my returning an adverse analytical finding for the use of a recreational drug. I am deeply sorry to all those that I have let down. I will never take the privilege of playing cricket for granted. This privilege is much larger than me and it goes beyond my personal aspirations. I am serving a provisional suspension and I am looking forward to returning to the game I love playing. I couldn’t have gone through this alone. I’d like to thank my agent, CSA, and Gujarat Titans for their support. I’d also like to thank SACA and my legal team for their guidance and counsel and Most importantly I’d like to thank my friends and family for their understanding and love as moving forward, this moment will not define me and I will keep doing what I have always done, continuously working hard and playing with passion and devotion to my craft.
He admitted to the drug test failure, expressing deep regret and emphasizing that playing cricket is a privilege he’ll never take for granted and Rabada thanked his family, friends, Cricket South Africa (CSA), Gujarat Titans, and his legal team for supporting him through this tough time as he vowed to move forward, saying this moment wouldn’t define his career, and promised to keep playing with passion and hard work.
SACA chose not to comment further, and SAIDS was set to release more details about the suspension soon after. Despite this, Rabada’s suspension was reduced to one month after completing a treatment program, clearing him to play again, possibly as early as Gujarat Titans’ match against Mumbai Indians on May 6, 2025 and is also set to lead South Africa’s bowling in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June.
Playing for MI Cape Town, Rabada gave a urine sample on January 21 after a match against Durban Super Giants at Kingsmead. The test showed traces of benzoylecgonine, a substance linked to cocaine, according to South African newspaper Rapport. It was later explained by Rabada’s legal team that he had taken the substance when no matches were going on, and not during competition time. Since the cocaine level was below 1,000 nanograms per millilitre, they showed it wasn’t used on the test day and on this, the CEO of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS), Khalid Galant said:
He was smart to go down that route. If you know you did it, it saves you time and legal fees.
Rabada chose not to test a second sample, a move that Khalid Galant, CEO of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS), called smart to save time and legal costs as this helped Rabada avoid a long doping ban and he apologized for his mistake, thanking his team and family for their support, and promised to focus on his cricket career.
Just like Kagiso Rabada, India’s opening batsman Prithvi Shaw faced a tough moment when he was suspended for a doping violation in 2019. The young cricketer, known for his exciting batting, was banned for eight months by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after testing positive for a prohibited substance during a domestic tournament. The incident happened during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match on February 22, 2019, in Indore, and it shook the cricket world. In the report released, it was stated that:
Mr. Shaw had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing program during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match on 22nd February 2019 in Indore. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain Terbutaline. Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In & Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substance.
Shaw’s urine sample, collected as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping program, showed traces of Terbutaline, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) both in and out of competition. Terbutaline is often found in cough syrups, and Shaw explained that he took it by mistake to treat a respiratory infection, not to boost his performance as he admitted the violation right away, which helped his case and the BCCI accepted his explanation after reviewing evidence and consulting experts, deciding that the substance wasn’t used to gain an unfair advantage. The report further stated:
Mr. Shaw was charged with the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 and provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge. Mr. Shaw responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV but asserting that it was inadvertent, being caused by his ingestion of the over the counter cough syrup he had taken for his cough.
As a result, Shaw was handed an eight-month suspension, starting from March 16, 2019, and ending on November 15, 2019 and since he admitted the mistake early, the BCCI allowed the ban to be backdated to the sample collection date, February 22, 2019. However, he still had to serve half the ban period, meaning he was sidelined for key matches.