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South Africa Coach Mark Boucher Concerned by Kagiso Rabada Ban
By Shruti - Jan 19, 2020 7:52 pm
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South African coach Mark Boucher shared on Friday he was “concerned” about cricket’s disciplinary regulations after pacer Kagiso Rabada was handed a ban which led him excluded from the fourth and final Test against England in Johannesburg next week.

Rabada
Kagiso Rabada

“I am concerned, to be honest,” said Boucher. “You don’t want to take all the aggression out of the game. You’ve got two countries playing against each other in a heated situation. Guys are trying really hard.”

Kagiso Rabada pleaded guilty to a level one breach of the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct because of his celebration after the dismissal of England captain Joe Root during the first day of the third Test at St George’s Park on Thursday. He was fined 15 percent of his match fee as well.

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“Level one is almost like a slap on the wrist but because of the demerit points unfortunately he won’t be playing in the next Test,” said Boucher. “Sometimes the emotions overflow so the rules and regulations are a little disappointing but if you know the rules and regulations you’ve got to stick to them. KG (Rabada) knows what he can and cannot do and he maybe pushed a little far.”

“I think KG probably bowls at his best when he is nice and aggressive so it’s trying to find a balance of keeping him aggressive and not boxing him in, but also understanding the laws of the game and trying to keep him on the good side of it. It is going to be tough but it is something we are going to have to address and get a very good balance,” he added.

“In my day we didn’t have to deal with this sort of stuff because we could say pretty much what we wanted and get away with it. It’s a learning curve for me with all these new rules and regulations,” he said.