Rabada misses SA20 opener with T20 World Cup selection looming

South Africa quick Kagiso Rabada faces a race against time to prove his fitness ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup as he continues to be sidelined with a rib injury.

He missed the first match of defending champions MI Cape Town's SA20 campaign (MICT) - the SA20 2025-26 season opener, against Durban's Super Giants (DSG) on Boxing Day - and is set to sit out the second too. MICT captain Rashid Khan said they were "hopeful" Rabada would be ready for match three on December 31.

If that is the case, Rabada will have only one match to convince South Africa's selection convener Patrick Moroney and head coach Shukri Conrad that he is fit enough to be selected in their 15-player squad for the T20 World Cup, which will be named on January 2. If he is fit, it is all but given that Rabada will be tasked with leading South Africa's attack, but any concern that he isn't could bring back memories of the 2019 ODI World Cup, when South Africa gambled on an injured Dale Steyn, only to have to replace him without him playing a game.

Rabada's niggle seems far less serious than Steyn's, which was a shoulder problem that ultimately ended his career. Rabada was seen bowling with no apparent discomfort on the practice pitch at Newlands before the SA20 opener. He spent significant time with MICT bowling coach Mitchell McClenaghan after he also said he felt "fine" when he stood in for Rashid at the captain's press conference earlier in the week.

Rabada has not played any cricket since October, when he featured in South Africa's Rawalpindi Test win against Pakistan. He was rested from the white-ball series that followed, and was named in South Africa's Test squad for India, but was ruled out on the morning of the first match with a rib injury. Rabada missed the second Test in India as well, and was subsequently also left out of the white-ball leg of the tour.

South Africa also have other bowling niggles: Gerald Coetzee was not part of DSG's XI for the SA20 opener as he recovers from a pec tear. It is understood he is not far from returning to action. Joburg Super Kings, meanwhile, have yet to provide an update on Nandre Burger, who was injured in the ODIs against India earlier this month.

In better news for South Africa, DSG's 19-year-old left-armer Kwena Maphaka, who was included in the side against MICT on Friday, was playing his first game since October after being ruled out of South Africa's recent white-ball tours with a hamstring strain.