South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada has warned his team against complacency ahead of their two-Test World Test Championship series against Bangladesh, with the first match set to begin in Johannesburg on Saturday.
South Africa sit second in the WTC standings, well ahead of Bangladesh in fifth, but Rabada insisted that the Proteas would not take their opponents lightly.
“In international cricket, you can’t take any series for granted,” Rabada told reporters ahead of the series.
The fast bowler acknowledged Bangladesh’s recent performances and expects the hosts to be highly motivated to make an impression against the visitors.
“They will be high in confidence, given the way they’ve played recently. I think they’d want to come here and prove a point. I’m really looking forward to this battle. I think it will show how healthy cricket is,” he said.
Rabada also admitted that South Africa had been guilty of complacency in similar situations in the past, stressing the importance of maintaining their intensity throughout the series.
“We’ve found ourselves in that position before, where we’ve probably become a bit too complacent. It’s something we have to guard against. We need to give it our best shot and maintain our intensity to keep our standards high,” he said.
Rather than focusing on the outcome, Rabada said South Africa would stick to the approach that has served them well over the past two years.
“We’re not really thinking about the result. We’re just going to focus on how we want to play. That’s what we’ve been doing over the past two years, maintaining that desperation to win,” he said.
He added that South Africa would look to maintain their aggressive approach against the hosts.
“We want to get into the faces of our opponents. That’s exactly how we want to play, and we’ll look to do more of the same,” he added.
The opening Test gets underway at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday, with the second Test scheduled to be played at Centurion from November 23.
