Johannesburg: South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has returned to his home country South Africa, leaving his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) after suffering a lower limb soft tissue infection, the country's cricket board said on Wednesday.
Rabada, who leads the Punjab Kings bowling attack in the cash-rich IPL, has taken 11 wickets in as many games. Punjab Kings have already been eliminated from the IPL play-offs race with a couple of games left in the ongoing season. Punjab will play their second last games against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday at Guwahati while they will square off against rampaging Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last league game on May 19.
"The 28-year-old (Rabada) consulted a specialist on arrival in South Africa and is being closely monitored by the Cricket South Africa medical team," Cricket South Africa (CSA) in a statement.
Cricket South Africa also said that the injury is unlikely to impact Rabada's preparation for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean's and Americas next month. "His preparation for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA is not expected to be affected," the CSA added.
Kagiso Rabada has been an integral part of Punjab Kings' pace attack. He is someone on whom Punjab have relied heavy to give early breakthrough with Arshdeep Singh facing issues with his form. Punjab Kings roped the right-hand pacer ahead of the IPL 2022 for a staggering Rs 9.25 crores.
South Africa open their World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka in New York on June 3.
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