South Africa focused on Bangladesh, not WTC rankings, says Rabada

South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada has warned his team against complacency ahead of their two-Test World Test Championship series against Bangladesh, which begins tomorrow.

South Africa are second in the ICC World Test Championship standings, while Bangladesh are fifth. However, Rabada said his team would not take the rankings for granted.

“In international cricket, you can’t take any series for granted,” Rabada told reporters ahead of the series.

He acknowledged Bangladesh’s recent performances and said the hosts would be eager to prove themselves.

“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 admitted that South Africa had previously become complacent in similar situations. He said the team must maintain its intensity and standards 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.

The pacer added that South Africa would focus on their approach rather than the result.

“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.

“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 first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh begins in Johannesburg tomorrow (15 November).