No chokers tag from public ahead of T20 World Cup, says Kagiso Rabada

Normally, without fail, before ICC events, the headlines in the media around the country and the world would be about how the South African cricket team has done badly in ICC events in the past. 

The forbidden C-word would be brought back to life just before a major ICC event, a feat that would put the team under immense pressure even before the tournament began. 

At some point, many around the country would not even give South Africa a chance at ICC trophies, purely based on how they frequently got themselves in losing positions in pressure games in ICC events. 

However, after a successful 2024 and 2025, where the Proteas reached the final of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, won the World Test Championship at Lord's in 2025 and won a Test series in India for the first time in over two decades, there seems to be less pressure on the Proteas from the public heading into the 2026 T20 World Cup. 

There have been very few negative comments, and the team seems to have gained respect around the world as genuine contenders for the trophy in India and Sri Lanka. 

Moreover, the success of the Women's team over the last three years has also played a hand in the new image that South African cricket has earned. 

The Women reached three consecutive ICC finals, the 2023 and 2024 T20 World Cup finals and the 2025 ODI World Cup final, setting a standard for the Men's team follow. 

Proteas premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada acknowledged that they don't carry the extra burden of the C-tag heading into the upcoming showpiece event. 

"There hasn't been as much talk around it. It's more just been talk around form from what I've seen and well wishes from the public, really," Rabada told the reporters on Friday.  

"There's been none of references towards that choker's tag. From what I've heard, there's just been more talk about selection than anything else," he added.

With the South Africans showing more faith towards Rabada and his teammates heading into the T20 World Cup, the squad could do wonders and potentially bring the trophy home in Mzansi. 

The team is placed in Group D, along with New Zealand, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan. 

For their first match of the tournament, captain Aiden Markram will lead his team against Canada at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, 09 February. 

The match is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm SAST and will be broadcast live on SuperSport TV.