"You need to be challenging for that World Test Championship": SA pacer Rabada

Johannesburg [South Africa], August 2 : South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada is hopeful that South Africa can fight the likes of India and Australia for the ICC World Test Championship title.

With just one win in four Tests in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle, South Africa is preparing to take on West Indies, against whom they have not lost a Test match since 2007. The two-match Test series will start from August 7 onwards away from home in the Caribbean.
In fact, since readmission, South Africa have never lost a multi-game bilateral Test series against West Indies, winning nine of the ten Test series against them. The only series loss came in a one-off Test match in 1992, as per ICC.
Rabada believes that the likes of West Indies and South Africa should challenge the likes of India and Australia, who have been dominant in Test cricket, for the World Test Championship and ICC mace.
"You need to be challenging for that ICC mace or World Test Championship. That is one of the ways in which you have control to set an equilibrium amongst teams. For the fans to get good entertainment, the cricket has to be good. I just feel as if when good cricket is played, then the best teams want to play against those teams. It is up to us to play good Test cricket. And if you play good Test cricket, then you start to get a good following," he said.
As the series preparations begin, Rabada stated that the team was confident of beating the West Indies.
"We know that we can beat them. We do believe that we can beat them. The Caribbean is my favourite place to tour. I love coming here. There is a lot of history and cricket and cricketing history here," said the pacer.
West Indies themselves have just one win in this WTC cycle, but they turned heads with that single win, beating Australia in their backyard with Shamar Joseph, who made his debut in the series, producing a spellbinding performance with a seven-wicket haul at the Gabba.
Speaking of the scenes from that match, Rabada said that matches like those could bring more fans to Test cricket in the Caribbean Islands.
"Cricket is about giving entertainment. Sport is about giving entertainment to the fans," Rabada said.
"We saw when West Indies went and beat Australia, that brought a spark back to West Indies Test cricket. And more of that just needs to happen. The celebrations after Shamar Joseph bowled the way that he did - people were crying, people were very emotional. A picture tells a story of a thousand words. So all you have to do is look at those scenes and it will tell you," said Rabada.
Rabada, meanwhile, is on the cusp of a milestone with him nine short of 300 Test wickets, but the speedster is not thinking too much of it.
"It will be such a special landmark but I'm not focused on that, it will just be a byproduct," he said.
"I am just focused on making sure that I am there for the team and that I find a way to put in a performance. Putting in a performance ultimately means that the team is moving in the right direction and that I am doing my part," concluded the bowler.