Kagiso Rabada Age, Stats, Wickets, Teams and IPL Career

Who is Kagiso Rabada?

Kagiso Rabada is a South African international fast bowler whose career covers Test, ODI and T20I cricket as well as major franchise competitions. He bowls right-arm fast and bats left-handed. His record is built around wicket-taking pace, with official reports supporting the milestone and tournament claims described here.

Rabada's current teams are Gujarat Titans for IPL 2026 and MI Cape Town in SA20. His earlier IPL spells with Delhi and Punjab remain part of the same career, but each season and competition keeps its own appearances, runs and wickets.

Kagiso Rabada age, birthplace and playing style

Rabada was born in Johannesburg on 25 May 1995 and was 31 years old on 24 August 2026. Official IPL and Gujarat pages identify him as a South African bowler who bats left-handed and bowls right-arm fast. These identity fields match his international and franchise records.

Bowling role does not mean every season has the same workload or outcome. Gujarat used him across 17 matches in 2026, while his first season with the franchise in 2025 contained only four appearances. Season use, career totals and international formats remain separate because a roster label cannot substitute for confirmed match data.

Under-19 World Cup breakthrough

ICC's retrospective records that Rabada took 14 wickets at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, including a six-wicket haul against Australia, as South Africa won its first World Cup at any level. This is a youth international achievement and should not be added to his senior ODI, Test or T20I totals.

The tournament supplies an official starting point for his international rise without relying on unsourced academy stories. The competition, age group and wicket total are distinct: senior career statistics begin with their own debuts and do not absorb the Under-19 record.

ODI debut hat-trick and 6 for 16

Rabada made an extraordinary ODI debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka in July 2015. ICC's match report records a hat-trick and final figures of 6 for 16. At the time, those were the best men's ODI bowling figures on debut, while the hat-trick made him only the second man to achieve that feat in his first ODI.

The best-on-debut record was later surpassed by Charlie Cassell's 7 for 21 in 2024, which ICC documented directly. Rabada's achievement remains a debut hat-trick and a historic 6 for 16, but is no longer the current best debut analysis.

Kagiso Rabada Test statistics

Rabada's international snapshot dated 26 February 2026 lists 73 Tests, 340 wickets at 22.03 and best innings figures of 7 for 112. It records seventeen five-wicket hauls and four ten-wicket matches. His batting record in the same format stands at 1,102 runs, one fifty and a high score of 71.

The Test figures form part of his broader first-class record and must not be added to it as a separate total. Official ICC reports provide match and milestone context, while a later South Africa appearance would change only the relevant dated career row.

Rabada reached 300 Test wickets during South Africa's October 2024 Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur. ICC reported that he became the fastest bowler to the milestone and returned to number one in the Test bowling rankings after taking nine wickets in the match. The seven-wicket South Africa win is separate from his later World Test Championship final performance.

Youngest South African to 100 Test wickets

In October 2017, Rabada took match figures of 10 for 63 against Bangladesh. ICC reported that the performance made the 22-year-old the youngest South African to reach 100 Test wickets. It also helped South Africa complete what was then its largest innings victory.

This is a national age record tied to the moment he reached the milestone, not a claim that he was the youngest bowler from every country. The age, opponent, match figures and South African scope remain visible, while later wicket totals are reported independently through the dated career table.

ODI and T20I statistics

The 26 February 2026 career snapshot lists 106 ODIs and 168 wickets at 27.45, with best bowling of 6 for 16. It separately lists 78 T20Is and 82 wickets at 28.65, with best figures of 3 for 18. His ODI record includes two five-wicket hauls; the T20I row lists none.

Each format has distinct rules, schedules and aggregates. The ODI-debut six-for belongs only in the ODI line, and an IPL wicket cannot be added to T20I figures. The visible table date shows the cutoff for these international totals.

First-class bowling record

Rabada's first-class snapshot stands at 93 matches, 415 wickets at 22.66 and best innings figures of 9 for 33. It includes twenty five-wicket hauls and five ten-wicket matches, while his batting record lists 1,326 runs and a high score of 71.

First-class totals include qualifying Tests and domestic red-ball matches, so adding 340 Test wickets to 415 first-class wickets would double-count the international component. The two rows answer different questions and should never be combined into an invented red-ball total.

IPL career before Gujarat Titans

Rabada began his IPL career in 2017 with Delhi's franchise and later represented Punjab Kings. His best early season came in 2020, when official IPL and Gujarat sources record 30 wickets in 17 matches and the Purple Cap. Delhi also reached its first IPL final that year.

A Purple Cap identifies the leading wicket-taker for one tournament season. It does not mean Rabada led every bowling metric or won the championship. The 2020 cap remains separate from his later 2026 award, and both seasons remain inside the official career aggregate rather than being added again as bonus wickets.

What does Kagiso Rabada's ₹10.75 crore IPL figure mean?

Gujarat Titans secured Rabada for ₹10.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction and retained him at the same published salary-cap deduction for 2026. The league squad document lists 1,075 lakh, while Gujarat and IPL biographies confirm the signing amount and continuing squad place.

That competition figure does not establish Rabada's post-tax income, total career earnings or net worth. Those totals require private information about payments, taxes, assets, liabilities and endorsements. The dependable public claim is the ₹10.75 crore IPL amount with its contract scope stated clearly.

Limited IPL 2025 campaign

Gujarat's official career table records four appearances, nine runs and two wickets for Rabada in IPL 2025. The small sample contrasts sharply with the full 17-match campaign that followed. It should not be treated as evidence that his underlying international record disappeared or that his contract value guaranteed selection.

Keeping 2025 visible makes the 2026 turnaround more informative instead of presenting only a peak. Gujarat's season review records the later Purple Cap, while the player table preserves the complete competition history. Selection, availability and performance remain different parts of that record.

Kagiso Rabada IPL 2026 Purple Cap

Rabada took 29 wickets from 17 matches in IPL 2026, according to Gujarat's completed player table and season review. He finished as the tournament's leading wicket-taker and received the Purple Cap. IPL's official video archive independently lists the award after the final on 31 May 2026.

The 2026 cap was his second after 2020. Gujarat reached the final but lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, making it a runner-up team finish rather than a title. The 29 wickets are already included in his official 148-wicket IPL career total and are not added twice.

A 3 for 32 contribution against Chennai Super Kings

In Gujarat's final league-stage match against Chennai Super Kings, the official scorecard records Rabada taking 3 for 32 as Chennai were dismissed for 140. Mohammed Siraj and Rashid Khan also took three wickets, showing that the result was a collective bowling performance rather than a one-player victory.

Match-level examples support the season aggregate but do not replace it. The 3 for 32 belongs to one completed result and scorecard, while the 29-wicket total covers the full season. A selected highlight should not be mistaken for the entire campaign.

Kagiso Rabada IPL career statistics

Gujarat's official profile lists 101 IPL matches, 262 runs and 148 wickets through the completed 2026 season. It records best bowling of 4 for 21, a bowling average of 22.69 and an economy of 8.80. The 2026 line contributes 29 wickets and 47 runs from 17 matches.

IPL matches are part of broader T20 cricket, so the league aggregate remains separate and is never added to a general T20 total. Official IPL and Gujarat records agree on the completed 2026 career row used here.

Gujarat Titans and MI Cape Town memberships

Official team directories list Rabada with Gujarat Titans for IPL 2026 and MI Cape Town for SA20. Earlier Delhi and Punjab seasons remain part of his IPL career history but are not current-team memberships.

MI Cape Town's 5 August 2026 squad update lists Rabada among the retained players for SA20 Season 5. That confirms his continuing team relationship after the completed 2026 IPL season; it does not merge SA20 appearances or wickets into his Gujarat record.

A retention confirms a squad place before the season, not an appearance in every scheduled match. SA20 performance figures should therefore come from completed competition scorecards, while Gujarat's 29-wicket total remains fixed to IPL 2026.

What is publicly established about Kagiso Rabada's private life?

Official cricket records do not provide a sufficiently complete and relevant account of Rabada's relationships or family life. Celebrity-site claims about partners or private relatives are therefore not dependable additions to his cricket record.

The portrait is a 2018 formal-event photograph released through Wikimedia Commons by KingdomKome under CC BY-SA 4.0. The local square crop retains the required credit and share-alike licence.

World Test Championship final and 2023–25 cycle

Rabada took nine wickets against Australia at Lord's in the 2025 World Test Championship final. His first-innings 5 for 51 put him on the Lord's honours board, and South Africa completed a five-wicket chase to win its first World Test Championship title.

Rabada followed 5 for 51 with 4 for 59 as Australia made 207 in its second innings. He took wickets in both Australian innings at Lord's. Those figures explain the nine-wicket match return without combining it with wickets from earlier championship matches. Aiden Markram's 136 then led the chase of 282, so Rabada's bowling and Markram's batting were distinct parts of the same team victory.

ICC's review of the 2023–25 cycle credits Rabada with 56 wickets at 18.93, including the nine-wicket final. Among bowlers who played at least ten matches in that cycle, only Jasprit Bumrah had a lower average. The cycle total and final match return are related but answer different questions: one covers the full championship campaign, while the other isolates the title match.