ICC WTC 2023-25 final: Will Australia sledge Kagiso Rabada for drug ban? Pat Cummins reveals

Pat Cummins will lead Australia in the ICC WTC 2023-25 final against South Africa.

Australia and South Africa will clash in the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 from June 11. The match will be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Australia are the defending champions, having won the mace by defeating India in the final of the last cycle in 2023.

In his 68th test, Cummins will captain Australia for the 34th time. With his weathered matinee idol charm combined with the tenacity that has made him such a great leader, the fast bowler sits at the top of the international cricket rankings.

During his three and a half years in charge, Australia have won nearly everything, and they are predicted to keep their test crown.

He was asked about Australians’ nudging and sledging Kagiso Rabada, the lead South African pacer in the WTC final. Rabada has always been in the face of Australians whenever the two sides clashed, and Australians are known for their mind games.

“Not really our style”- Pat Cummins says he’d be surprised if Australians sledged Kagiso Rabada

The ICC WTC 2023-25 final will start on Wednesday, June 11, at the Lord’s, and Australia captain Pat Cummins has stated that he would be “surprised” if his team tried to sledge South African pace star Kagiso Rabada due to his recent one-month doping ban.

Rabada tested positive for a recreational hard substance, cocaine, in the middle of the 2025 Indian Premier League, leading to his ban. After consuming it in South Africa, he returned home amid the IPL 2025 and issued an apology in a statement for leading by example.

Though he came back to India for some games, the ICC WTC 2023-25 final will be Rabada’s first outing with South Africa since the incident.

“It’s not really our style. I’d be surprised if that came up,” Cummins told the Guardian, when asked if his team would sledge the South African pacer.

Since the sandpaper incident against South Africa in 2018, Australia have made reasonable adjustments to their abrasive cricket style. Cummins, a New Balance ambassador, is a prime example of the enhanced reputation.

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