‘You can’t take any team for granted,’ says Rabada about Bangladesh challenge

Kagiso Rabada says the Proteas are fired up for a strong challenge from a Bangladesh team looking to make history. Proteas spearhead Kagiso Rabada says they will be fully prepared and won’t be taking anything for granted when they take on Bangladesh in the first Test of their two-Test series at the Wanderers in Johannesburg from Sunday (10am start). The Proteas will be riding high after a superb come-from-behind 2-1 Test series win over Australia, which lifted the current Test Mace holders to the top of the ICC Test cricket rankings. Bangladesh meanwhile head into the series off a 1-0 defeat to West Indies in a two-Test series, losing the first Test by eight wickets, before drawing the second. They are ranked eighth in the Test rankings and will be considered heavy underdogs. But they will be eager to produce an upset and make some history, as they did when they upset the Aussies Down Under in August, picking up their first ever Test win in Australia, and they will now be targeting their first ever Test win over the Proteas. Nothing for granted Despite the Proteas being in good form and heavy favourites, Rabada said on Friday that the Proteas are not taking anything for granted, and that they are fired up to continue playing good cricket. “In international cricket you can’t take any series for granted. There are always high stakes in every game that you play. Going into this series against Bangladesh their spirits will be high if you look at the way they have played in recent times,” said Rabada. “So it is exciting. You want to come up against the best that the opposition can be and they will want to come over here and prove a point. So hopefully we will see some exciting cricket, as we have seen in our previous series (against Australia). “It will show how healthy cricket is (in South Africa) and we are really looking forward to this battle. We are playing at the Wanderers for the first time in a while. The weather is really hot and that shows the South African summer is on its way. “Going into this series we can take positives away from the way we have been playing (recently), but at the same time you can’t take any opposition or series for granted. There has to be something on the line otherwise it takes the fun, enjoyment and desperation out of it.” Back in the setup Speaking about being back in the Proteas Test setup, after missing the ODI series against Australia and the first Test due to injury, Rabada said he was just thrilled to continue living his dream, and hopefully that will inspire the players around him. “I just want to be true to myself and true to the way that I would like to play, who I play for and what it means to me. Playing for South Africa is like a blessing, it’s a gift and something that not many people get to do. It’s a dream of mine that has come true,” explained Rabada. “Each and every day that I have the opportunity to play for South Africa and to represent the country, my teammates and myself, is me just continuing to live my dream, so I just try and be myself. “In the team environment what that means is that I give my best, I am optimistic, I lift up and uphold standards, and that all comes quite naturally to me. If it rubs off (on other players) it will only rub off in a good way.”