South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has rejoined the Gujarat Titans (GT) squad ahead of their IPL 2025 fixture against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium, following a one-month suspension for a recreational drug violation. The 29-year-old’s return comes after a period away from the sport to address what he described as an “error in judgement.”

Rabada had unexpectedly departed the IPL season midway after featuring in just two matches for the Titans, with the franchise initially citing “personal reasons.” However, the circumstances surrounding his absence became public last week when Rabada released a statement admitting to testing positive for a substance of abuse during the SA20 tournament in January.

Kagiso Rabada completes the suspension-period for recreational drug use

The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) subsequently confirmed that Rabada had failed a doping test conducted on January 21, following a match between MI Cape Town and Durban Super Giants. He received notification of the positive test result on April 1, while already in India for the IPL season. A provisional suspension was immediately imposed, prompting Rabada’s return to South Africa to commence his sanction and enter a substance abuse treatment program.

Under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines concerning recreational drugs, the standard ban is three months. However, this period can be significantly reduced to just one month if the athlete successfully completes an approved treatment and education program. Rabada’s ban was accordingly shortened after he fulfilled all the necessary requirements, including participating in two sessions focused on substance abuse education and awareness. Having completed these steps, he is now eligible to return to competitive cricket.

Gujarat Titans break silence on Kagiso Rabada’s rehabilitation

Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Gujarat Titans’ Director of Cricket, Vikram solankiaddressed the situation with candour, praising Rabada’s openness and commitment to his rehabilitation. “Speaking about Kagiso, I’d like to just get a couple of things across,” Solanki stated. “The first of which would be that Kagiso has expressed regret at an error in judgement. He’s made a telling statement. I read his statement, and I thought that his statement speaks volumes about the personality of the character that he is.”

Solanki emphasized Rabada’s eagerness to return to the game. “He has expressed regret, as I said. But he is very much looking forward to getting back to playing the game he loves,” Solanki added. “He will take his, sort of, lessons from this and we’re just looking forward to having him back part of our group, having him back at practice. He served his time.”

Solanki also highlighted that all procedural and protocol requirements were meticulously followed by everyone involved. “The second thing I’d like to place on record is that as far as procedure and protocol is concerned, everybody that’s involved in this episode, right from Kagiso, his representative, all matters, as far as requirements (go), have been followed to the letter. We try to be mindful of the emotion around Kagiso as well. But having said all of that, he’s now back, having served the time to serve the suspension for 30 days. And what we’re looking for now is for him to just be back doing what he loves, and for him to be doing stuff that we appreciate him doing. And that’s to be part of the team.”

Acknowledging the potential for off-field issues to impact a player, Solanki admitted, “You are absolutely right, it is easy to get distracted.” However, he stressed Rabada’s clear intention not to let this episode disrupt the team. “One of the things he’s made very clear is that he doesn’t want this episode to distract anybody,” Solanki said. “But as far as the team’s concerned, he spoke very eloquently about the fact that this is something he’s dealing with. As far as the team is concerned, the team will of course support it. It’s our job to support the players we have, whether it be on the matter of form or it be on the matter of personal matters like this. We will be supportive of Kagiso.”

Rabada’s availability provides a significant boost to Gujarat Titans bowling attack as they head into a crucial phase of the tournament.