Kagiso Rabada remembers the U19 World Cup as “a pathway to my dreams” and how it paved the way for superstardom.

Ten years have passed since the United Arab Emirates, where an 18-year-old Kagiso Rabada captured the attention of the globe. During the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, Kagiso Rabada—who is currently ranked No. 2 in the ICC Rankings for Test bowlers—was playing in his first international cricket match. Accompanying senior international teammate Aiden Markram, the dynamic bowler went on to capture 14 wickets at 10.28 in the event, which helped South Africa win.

“I recall that we were very excited about our U19 World Cup. After competing against one another at the provincial level, we now play together for South Africa. And that was significant because we could speak for our nation, added Kagiso Rabadaa.

Kagiso Rabada remembered with nostalgia the feelings he felt when he took the field for the first time.

“My mindset at the time was to take advantage of the surroundings and make an announcement on the global scene,” he remarked. It was really thrilling and paved the way for my aspirations of representing South Africa. Additionally, I was dying to visit the park.

He had the best possible start to his career against the West Indies. Rabada took the important wicket of Shimron Heytmyer, another future star, off the fourth ball after skipper Markram gave him the ball and the team defended a modest total of 198 in Dubai.

We breezed through them after that, remarked Rabada. “We had a great start with the bat in that game, and it was a great start to the competition.”

Other young players who are now well-known include Imam-ul-Haq of Pakistan, Nicholas Pooran of the West Indies, Kuldeep Yadav and Shreyas Iyer of India, and Rabada and Markram.

Kagiso Rabada can still feel the excitement he felt before he bowled to Pooran. “Nobody could stop talking about Nicholas Pooran.” And they declared, “He’s a real star to look out for.” You can tell how he dates by the fact that he drove me for a few borders.

South Africa easily won their remaining group matches to go to the knockout stage after defeating the West Indies. Markram’s outstanding century guaranteed the youthful Proteas a straightforward passage into the semi-finals, where they faced Australia.

Their senior sides’ matches in the Cricket World Cup semi-finals from 1999 to 2023 have been exciting to watch. And it was the same in the 2014 U19 match. After a strong start with Markram and Fortuin, South Africa was limited to 230 by Australia.

“I recall that we batted first in that game, and Aiden Markram and Clyde Fortuin had a solid partnership (105 for the first wicket).” We were down to approximately 220 [230] when we dropped those two, but Australia got it back,” Rabada said.

Kagiso Rabada truly left an impact at that moment. Leading the attack with the ball, he scorched through Australia’s top order and blew away the tail with a spectacular 6/25.

We needed to execute well when we possessed the ball. We were upfront, friendly, and combative. Once more, we took early wickets, and after that, everyone was simply outstanding. The game was ours because we took all the risks.

In the final, where Pakistan was the opponent, a self-assured South Africa saw Kagiso Rabada perform brilliantly. His frugal 1/26 helped restrict Pakistan to 131, and he dismissed Imam early.

There was still a great deal of strain on the pursuit. “At that point, our coach, Ray Jennings, talked about 10 runs at a time in the changing room after we had bowled them out for 130. Kagiso Rabada stated, “And it did put us under pressure up front.”

Greg Oldfield and Markram’s solid 71-run partnership for the third wicket allayed any fears.

“It seems like we basically coasted from there after Aiden Markram and Greg Oldfield established a pretty significant partnership early in the game. Everyone on the ledge rushed off and ran onto the field when Bradley Dial hit the game-winning run.

The young players found the tournament to be a good introduction to playing cricket under pressure.

“Every game was really important. Additionally, whether it’s on or off the field, one must deal with other mental obstacles that arise, according to Rabada. With an Under-19 World Cup, you are introducing yourself to the world. You want to prove to the world how amazing you are because there are more people watching you. And you want to make an impression at that age. You exhibit your competitive nature and continue to pursue your goals.

Kagiso Rabada urged every competitor to take advantage of the opportunity ahead of the competition in 2024.

Prior to the World Cup, he declared, “It’s a great honor and privilege to represent the country.” As an individual, it’s a huge platform to introduce yourself and show the world that you are a formidable competitor. There will be future greats as well as future stars; you can anticipate that. Plus, you can say you were the first to see them.

The final match of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in South Africa is scheduled for February 11; the tournament gets underway on January 19.