'We didn't get a choice: Rabada on scheduling fiasco that rocked SA cricket

Still bitter about the scheduling fiasco that forced him and other senior players to miss a twomatch SA vs NZ Test series earlier this year South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada says they were not given a say in the unacceptable botchupAs many as seven uncapped players were named for the series which was a part of the World Test Championship even as firstchoice players were involved in the SA20 league at homeNeil Brand who captained the team in New Zealand made his Test debut during the opening game in Mount Maunganui and the hosts expectedly won the series 20Looking back at that controversial episode Rabada hoped players will not have to go through such unsavoury moments againIt was very very unacceptable and remains unacceptable to date It was obviously a planning issue It is unacceptable that is all I would say about that Rabada one of the leading fast bowlers in the game told PTI in an interviewRabada who is currently playing for Punjab Kings in the IPL also offered strong support to the uncapped South Africa players who were put in that awkward situation for no fault of their ownIf I can go back on that point it is not fair to go at the players It is not fair to say that players are being picked and they got free Test caps I dont think it is fair to put that criticism on the players They simply got asked to go there and at the end of the day they are not going to say no That is a planning issue and it has got to do with what is happening at the higher level what happened with Cricket South Africa It was basically a double book that was what it wasThe presence of star South Africa players was important for the success of the young SA20 league and as a result Test cricket became the casualtyEnd of the day we didnt really get a choice to even go there New Zealand because of the importance of the SA20 It is like shooting yourself in the foot said the 28yearold who considers Test cricket as the number one format of the gameCricket comes from Test cricket and Test from my perspective is the best format I would imagine all great players who play all formats would say Test cricket is their favourite format It is the same for me as wellAlso ReadSunil Narines skyward symphony Sixes ascend to new heights in VizagAt the moment India England and Australia play the most number of redball games in a WTC cycle including fivematch Test series against each otherWhen it comes to countries excluding India England and Australia it is quite unfortunate The way that I see it to become a powerful cricket nation without the advantage of currency and advantage of TV rights it is about playing good cricket The better you play the more teams want to play with you It is very hard to argue against why those nations would want to play with each other because at the end of the day it is about sustaining the business of cricket which is to make revenue and that is how the game stays alive How do you incorporate other nations playing the same amount of Test cricketI am not sure If you are looking at prolonging Test cricket if you want kids to keep playing Test cricket globally then a plan has to be madeRabada also lauded BCCIs recent move to incentivise Test players but felt that much more needed to be doneYou pay cricketers well but it is a culture as well It is not just about the money because the money these days the cricketers are blessed with They can make enough money through the leagues It is great what the BCCI is doing to incentivise Test players But it is also a culture as all cricket comes from Test cricket added the South African who has taken 291 wickets in just 62 TestsWith agency inputs