South African cricketer Kagiso Rabada admits to recreational drug use after leaving IPL for 'personal reasons', participation in WTC final under cloud

Johannesburg: World's premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada on Saturday made a shocking revelation that he left the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) because he is serving a provisional suspension for using a banned recreational drug.

The South African pacer had left the league last month after playing two games for Gujarat Titans, citing personal reasons. GT had bought him for Rs 10.75 crore. Rabada, who will turn 30 later this month, issued a statement through South African Cricketers' Association (SACA).

"As has been reported, I recently returned to South Africa from participating in the IPL for personal reasons. This was due to my returning an adverse analytical finding for the use of a recreational drug," Rabada said in a the statement, profusely apologising for his indiscretion.

"I am serving a provisional suspension and I am looking forward to returning to the game I love playing," he added.

The statement didn't mention which recreational drug he used.

It has been learnt through CSA sources that Rabada was tested during the SA20 League in January-February. He plays for MI Cape Town in that cricket league.

The development has put Rabada's possible participation in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June under doubt.

According to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, the quantum of punishment for usage of recreational drug could be anything between three months to four years.

Substances such as cocaine, heroin, MDMA and cannabis fall in the category of 'Substances of Abuse'. WADA recognizes they can be taken out-of-competition for reasons unrelated to sports performance.

The use of such drugs carry a maximum of four-year ban but if a sportsperson can prove that the use occurred out-of-competition and is not related to performance enhancement, the ban could be reduced to three months with no need to further analyze the degree of fault.

The athlete's ban can be reduced to two months if he/she is willing to undertake a treatment program that is approved by South African Anti-Doping body.

If the drug is taken in-competition but the athlete can prove the use was unrelated to performance, a two-year ban will be handed out as the infringement will be considered non-intentional.

Rabada, who has played 241 international games for the Proteas across formats including 70 Tests, thanked his country's cricket board and IPL outfit Gujarat Titans for standing by him in this hour of crisis.

"I couldn’t have gone through this alone. I’d like to thank my agent, CSA, and Gujarat Titans for their support. I’d also like to thank SACA and my legal team for their guidance and counsel. Most importantly I’d like to thank my friends and family for their understanding and love." Rabada believes that this one-off incident won't define him.

"Moving forward, this moment will not define me. I will keep doing what I have always done, continuously working hard and playing with passion and devotion to my craft," he said.