Rabada sorry about drug use but 'won't be Mr-I-Apologise too much'

Kagiso Rabada had admitted to testing positive for recreational drug use and served a one-month ban as punishment, and now he has to return to the highest levels of cricket, where he has to face further consequences. He must clear the air - if that is required - with national team-mates, endure whatever the opposition decides to throw at him, and face down various media as he prepares for South Africa's World Test Championship (WTC) final.

All of these were assignments he was taking seriously, Rabada said in his first media interaction since the incident, as he left for London. "I think I owe it to them [to talk about what happened] - they're my team-mates," Rabada said of speaking to the squad about his suspension. "We've come from so far, you know, and to my closest people I owe it to them.

"Look, this is not an ideal situation. I don't need too many pats on the back here. I'm going to be joining with them again. I've already spoken to them and I guess we can do so in more detail when we get together for an extended amount of time."

Rabada had flown home from IPL 2025 late in March for supposed "personal reasons", before the facts of his misdemeanours were rolled out following his testing positive for a drug that was either cannabis, cocaine, heroin or ecstasy, as per the code of the South African Institute of Drug-Free Sport. He returned to India to play two further games for Gujarat Titans (GT) following the end of his suspension.

Rabada did not disclose in public the circumstance that led to him taking the banned substance, but he had tested positive in January, during the SA20 league.

"It led me to a bit of introspection about myself, and I took some time away from the game," he said. "I think the biggest thing I took away from it is having gratitude for playing the game that we love. I'm just glad to be playing again… the process was handled really well."

Rabada admitting to the offence is understood to have led to him being handed a more lenient punishment.

"The decision to come back early [from the IPL] was brilliant, and that's a decision that I made," Rabada said. "I could have tried to contest it and whatnot, but coming home was the best option, and I was in good hands. All the parties that were involved made the whole process smooth.

"I think, as a player, and a man, people will have their different opinions. I can live with that."

Though he had issued a statement in which he'd apologised to fans, he said he was looking forward to just playing cricket for South Africa again.

"As you would have seen in my statement there are some people who would have been disappointed. And to those people I'm deeply sorry," Rabada said. "The people closest to me are the ones I felt I let down.

"But life moves on. I'll never be 'Mr-I-Apologise' too much. But I'll never condone that action."