The SA cricket star has already served his suspension and is available to play again.
Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada served a one-month suspension for recreational drug use after traces of benzoylecgonine (BZE), a metabolite of cocaine, were reportedly found in his urine sample, according to Sunday publication Rapport.
Rabada, who has already served the suspension after returning to South Africa from India in early April, is back with his Indian Premier League team Gujarat Titans.
However, the IPL has been suspended due to tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. No matches have been played since Thursday. IPL bosses were to meet on Sunday to discuss the way forward.
Rabada tested during SA20
Rabada was one of 16 cricketers tested during the SA20 in January. He provided a sample to the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) after the match between his team, MI Cape Town, and Durban’s Super Giants in Durban, according to Khalid Galant, the CEO of Saids.
“He was tested after the match, he provided the sample, and that sample tested positive for substance of abuse,” Galant told SportsBoom.co.za.
“In South Africa, in terms of this substance, I think we haven’t had a positive in cricket in a few years. Internationally, it may be different. In the last two or three years, we haven’t had a high number of positive cases in cricket.”
According to Rapport, Rabada declined the option of having his B sample tested.
“He was smart to go down that route,” Galant, CEO of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids), told Rapport. “If you know you did it, it saves you time and legal fees.”
Rabada will be available for the Proteas Test team when they take on Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in London early next month.
