IPL 2025: Kagiso Rabada return home to personal reasons

Kagiso Rabada, the Gujarat Titans’ (GT) star fast bowler, departed the team for personal reasons, dealing them a severe setback. The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 return date for the South African speedster has not been announced by the team. The franchise said in a statement that he had departed “to deal with an important personal matter”

Kagiso Rabada had participated in the Titans’ opening two games in the 18th iteration of the lucrative league.

In the loss to the Punjab Kings, he gave up 41 runs and took one wicket. Rabada took the crucial wicket of Hardik Pandya against the Mumbai Indians, helping the 2022 champions win handily.

Rabada did not play in Wednesday, April 2, Gujarat’s third and most recent match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Arshad Khan, a left-arm seamer who took the huge wicket of Virat Kohli, took his place. In the early stages of the IPL 2025, the Titans advanced to the top four after winning the game by eight wickets. For this match, GT only sent three foreign players: Sherfane Rutherford, Rashid Khan, and Jos Buttler. The latter entered as the Impact Player and helped the visitors over the finish line with an undefeated 63-run partnership off 32 balls with Buttler.

Gerald Coetzee and Glenn Phillips are GT’s other international alternatives. Coetzee’s fitness is in doubt, even if Phillips hasn’t participated in any IPL 2025 games yet.

What will happen to the Gujarat Titans next?

Gujarat has recovered strongly from their opening game loss with two resounding victories. After the Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, and RCB, they are ranked fourth in the standings.

On Sunday, April 6, the Titans will play Sunrisers Hyderabad, the runner-up from the previous season, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. With three victories in five games, the Titans have an outstanding head-to-head record against the Sunrisers.