&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "SA vs AUS 2026: South Africa to take call on Rabada’s availability for first Test ‘as late as possible’")
South Africa will not rush ace seamer Kagiso Rabada’s return to the Test side. Batting coach Ashwell Prince said the selectors and management will decide on his participation in the series opener against Australia ‘as late as possible’. Rabada hasn’t played any cricket since IPL 2026, which ended in May, and later suffered a hamstring injury during winter training, ruling him out of the three-match ODI series last month. The right-arm pacer was earlier picked in the 18-man preliminary squad for the three Tests, and featured in a two-day intra-squad game on Sunday and Monday.
"He (Rabada) came through quite nicely and bowled really well," Prince said in Durban, where the series gets underway on Friday (Oct 9). "He'll continue to be involved in training over the next few days leading up to the match."
Although South Africa had earlier planned to pick a final 15 for the Test series, they ultimately retained the expanded squad to keep additional fast-bowling options on hand.
"From the bowler's point of view, domestically there's T20 cricket going on at the moment, so we feel that they'll be better served here, where they will bowl more red balls in training," Prince said. “And if they're not in the Test lineup, then they can continue bowling during the Test match in the nets, just to get the loads up.”
Lack of Red-Ball Cricket Makes Rabada’s Case Trickier
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Kagiso Rabada hasn’t played any Test cricket since touring Pakistan in October last year, later missing the two-Test away series against India with a rib injury. He also hasn’t played any first-class cricket in the meantime. All indications suggest that South Africa would want him 100% ready before unleashing him in the Durban Test against the mighty Aussies.
"Fair to say that he's obviously not going to be at 100% straight away, but he is looking good," Prince said. "He will train with the squad for the rest of the week, and we will leave a call to be made as late as possible."
For the first time in eight years, Australia has toured South Africa for a Test series, having last toured in 2018, when the infamous Sandpapergate scandal occurred. The two teams will also meet for the first time in Tests since their 2025 WTC Final face-off, where the Proteas stood tall, winning their first ICC title since 1998.
South Africa are currently second on the 2025-2027 WTC points table, with 10 Tests to play in the ongoing cycle, including eight at home between now and January 2027 and two away in Sri Lanka.
