Kagiso Rabada chilled over the lesson AB and Quinny gave him

It certainly seemed like a reality check – or at least a learning curve – but Kagiso Rabada isn’t too worried about his early form in domestic T20 challenge.

The Proteas bowling spearhead suffered at the hands of national teammates Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers in the Highveld Lions’ defeat to the Titans last weekend, eventually conceding 28 runs off just 2.2 overs.

De Kock hit him for 9 runs off his first four deliveries before De Villiers smashed two consecutive sixes to end the match.

“I think in every game you play, you will see where you went wrong,” Rabada said on Thursday ahead of the Lions’ meeting with the Cape Cobras at the Wanderers on Friday evening.

“I maybe was a bit rusty. It’s just about making the necessary improvements. One of AB’s sixes was a scoop shot, which he executed very well. The other one was a top edge. He was in and looking very good. That’s how T20 cricket goes.”

Given his rapid rise in international cricket, it’s sometimes easy to forget Rabada is still only 22 and a man with much to learn still.

But he’s not trying to use inexperience as an excuse for an off-colour outing.

“When you’re playing against really good players, you’re going to learn,” said Rabada.

“We’ve got some of the best batsmen in the world in this country. They’re going to expose you but that’s not a bad thing. It means you can set yourself a new limit because you can’t keep doing what you’ve been doing. You have to adapt and be better.”

Geoff Toyana, his franchise coach, also wants to strike a balance.

The Lions mentor knows Rabada is still gaining experience but the reality is he also needs to be considered a senior player.

“He’s a senior guy in my structure and that’s refreshing. I expect him to know where he’s at in terms of form. We place a lot of faith in him and he knows he didn’t bowl all that well. He’ll make amends.”

That’s a scary thought.

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