Rabada on transformation: 'I'm a black player, but I'm not invincible'

If Kagiso Rabada had kept thinking that he was the only black African player in South Africa's T20 World Cup 2024 squad, he would have gone through "torture" through the tournament. He said bearing that burden "didn't put any more pressure on me at all". Instead, Rabada embraced his role and encouraged a broader discussion on issues of transformation.

"I'm a black player, yes. If I don't feel like I should have been there on merit and if people don't feel that way, then it's fine. I'm not invincible. I can be dropped as well but I believe in myself," Rabada said from Trinidad, where South Africa are preparing for a two-Test series against West Indies.

Asked whether he was aware of the focus being put on the numbers of players in the squad - and in particular the black African contingent - and whether that created more expectation on him, Rabada said, "It didn't put any more pressure on me at all. It would be such a heavy thought, during a World Cup, thinking about yourself being the only black player in a team. That seems like torture for me. That just takes away from focus."

If there's one thing South Africa were at the tournament, it was focused. They enjoyed their most successful men's World Cup and went on an unbeaten eight-match run to reach their first final. They lost, narrowly, to India but earned praise for their progress. However, they also faced criticism from various political and administrative quarters over the composition of the squad, which was also a major discussion point at CSA's recent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Indaba (DEI conference).

CSA has acknowledged the failure of its policies to produce sufficient black African players, in particular, for the national squad, and has promised to respond to white-ball coach Rob Walter's plea for the domestic system to "up the ante" ahead of the home World Cup in 2027. But the board also recognises the need to keep the current transformation numbers at an acceptable level for the sports ministry to be happy and has had to answer questions over why its T20 World Cup 2024 squad included only one black African player. So Rabada understands why he is in the spotlight.

"These are certain challenges [we face] and you ask a valid question because you wonder how players must have felt in the past, how players in the future might feel. And these are things we need to address," he said. "For me, it was just about winning [the World Cup]. But for other players, you never know how it feels. And also, what the media has to say about the situation can really mess up the players' psychology or psyche. Those are certain things that we have to make peace with in South Africa because there's a very unique landscape. And this whole transformation thing, it always seems to bubble up when we're at World Cups for some reason."

A quick history lesson: South Africa have had transformation targets in place since 1999, seven years after readmission, which means the impetus to change has existed for 25 years. Initially, the national team was required to field four players of colour (any players who were not white) in every XI but since 2016, the target has become more specific but less rigid. Now, the national men's team is required to field, on average over the course of a season, six players of colour of which at least two must be black African.

The calculation of the target as an average means that the numbers do not apply to individual games, which meant they could go into the T20 World Cup with only six players of colour in the squad, and just one black African, but make up the target elsewhere in the season. This was the first time since 2016 that a South African World Cup squad only had six players of colour and the first time since 2015 that they have only had one black African player.

It was in fact, the 2015 ODI World Cup that caused a rethink, after Aaron Phangiso - the only black African player in that squad - went through the tournament without playing. It was also the 2015 World Cup where the transformation agenda resulted in interference in selection when then CEO Haroon Lorgat called coach Russell Domingo the night before the semi-final to remind him of the commitment to fielding four players of colour in each XI. Vernon Philander was then picked ahead of Kyle Abbott for the match against New Zealand.

At this T20 World Cup, South Africa only ever fielded four players of colour per XI, and only one black African - Rabada. Although it was never explicitly stated that Rabada would be expected to play every game, had South Africa gone into a match without him, they would have had no black Africans in the side. He ended as their second-highest wicket-taker behind Anrich Nortje.

The inclusion of Rabada, as a South African all-time great, in XIs is hardly ever up for debate but he explained there may be instances in which players of colour have cause to question themselves.

"You ask yourself, what are some of these factors that might make a player feel that way [that they are only included because of their colour], and it's factors such as we lost because of transformation or because we had to include players of colour or black Africans. And that always happens in World Cups," he said. "When we're winning series and we're winning or losing other games, it's not so much of an issue, so that's where it might be a bit inconsistent. And if you ask yourself truthfully, looking back in the past, have we not won a World Cup because of transformation? You know, I mean, like, really? So sometimes things can get blown out of proportion."

Looking at 2015, it cannot be argued that South Africa lost because of transformation. The selection interference came in the semi-final, and there's no knowing how they would have played against Australia in a final in Melbourne.

The 2022 T20 World Cup was different, where South Africa committed to picking an underperforming Temba Bavuma, because he was the captain. But they had little chance of lifting the trophy in any case. They were eliminated in the group stage after losing to Netherlands in one of their worst World Cup shows.

So Rabada, and CSA DEI Mudutambi Ravele, who last week asked whether the 2024 T20 World Cup squad did well "because they didn't have black players" are right: South Africa have not lost a World Cup because of transformation. But there are still discussions to be had about how best to manage the issue of redress and a player like Rabada, who carries the current baton for black cricketing excellence, understands that.

"It's a unique system and a lot of people have different opinions on it because of where our country comes from," he said. "And it's not a system that is particularly easy to just understand and move on from. It's something that has to be looked at in context."

And he is also able to separate those thoughts from the idea of celebrating achievement in whatever colour it comes. Asked to respond to South African swimmer Tatjana Smith winning the Olympic Games gold in the 100-metre breaststroke in Paris, Rabada did not miss a beat in celebrating her while identifying the similarities and differences between them.

"She's been making us proud. She's phenomenal and really inspiring. When I look at that as an athlete, it makes me want to achieve the same feat," he said. "She's a white swimmer and I'm a black man, but as an athlete and as someone who wants to aspire to be better and better, I think she's done a remarkable job. And people are watching. And they want to emulate that. Whatever field that they're in, they just want to do the same things that these people are doing, representing us all over the world."