Windhoek, Aug 31 (IANS) Young South African fast bowler Kwena Maphaka said he is ready to step up and lead the national pace bowling attack in the upcoming Test series against Australia if injured spearhead Kagiso Rabada fails to recover in time.
Maphaka has played only two Tests and could take on a prominent role during a packed international schedule featuring eight Tests, 12 ODIs, and multiple Twenty20 matches.
Rabada was ruled out of the ODI series against Australia after injuring his right hamstring in training. Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed that a decision on his Test availability will be made closer to the series opener on October 9.
“I've had a good start and I'm just looking to continue that momentum into the summer. I think I'll be able to do the job if I'm asked to do so. I really hope that KG (Rabada) is back in time. But if that doesn't happen, it's one of those things where somebody has to step up, and if that's me, I'm really confident in my abilities.
“I've led a bowling attack before with the Lions, with South Africa under-19 and I've been in the Proteas for a little bit now. So yeah, I'm really confident in my abilities," Maphaka was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
The youngster also spent the off-season working closely with national bowling coach Piet Botha and former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald to refine his red-ball technique and build consistency, after spending IPL 2026 on the bench for Rajasthan Royals.
"After not playing in the IPL, I definitely just wanted to knuckle down, work on my game, leading into a massive summer. Coach Shuks (head coach Shukri Conrad) and I had a chat about skipping the leagues in the winter to have a bit of a rest and then do some work leading into a big summer.
"The biggest thing for me was really working on my consistency. I was decent in the T20 format, but there was a lot of work to do in the longer formats that would also help in T20s. We worked on a little bit of my run-up but the biggest thing was just consistency and making sure that I can hit an area as consistently as possible. I feel that I've done that so far," he added.
Beyond the upcoming Test summer, Maphaka has set his sights on securing a place in South Africa's squad for next year's home ODI World Cup. "It'll be a massive privilege and a massive honour (to be involved in that). I'd definitely love to be in the squad and hopefully I could be one of the leaders at the forefront of next year's World Cup, especially being a home World Cup.
“I've had the opportunity to play a home Under-19 World Cup, something that a lot of people haven't been able to do. That experience and being able to play in front of home crowds would be really special to do a second time round.”
--IANS
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