'It stinks. You broke the contract': Kagiso Rabada's IPL return questioned, authorities blamed for drug episode secrecy

South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada returned to India after serving a suspension following a failed dope test. Reports hint that Rabada will likely be available for the Gujarat Titans' upcoming match against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on May 6. However, the whole episode, wrapped in secrecy, did not sit well with former Australia captain Tim Paine, who blamed the authorities for the lack of information about the incident.

Rabada abruptly left IPL 2025 at the end of March and headed back home, reportedly due to personal issues. However, on Saturday, the pacer revealed he had tested positive for a recreational drug and was hence away from IPL duties due to a subsequent provisional ban. The test was recorded during the SA20 league earlier this year in January.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport, the national anti-doping agency in South Africa, are set to clarify the matter on Monday (May 5), but Rabada apologised for his actions in a statement released on his social media page and expects to return to action soon.

However, Paine, speaking on his SEN Radio breakfast show, questioned how the entire episode was handled and also lashed out at the use of the phrase "personal issue" for his absence from IPL.

"It stinks. I don'tdon't like this use around personal issues, and it being used to hide stuff that isn't a personal issue. If you have a professional sportsman who's tested for recreational drugs during a tournament in which he is playing, that doesn't fall under personal issues for me. That falls under you have broken your contract. That is not a personal issue, that is something that is happening in your personal life.

""Taking drugs – recreational or performance enhancing – is not a personal issue that can just be hidden for a month. A guy can be taken out the IPL, moved back to South Africa and we just let it slide under the rug. Then we will bring him back once he's already served his ban,"" he said.

With Rabada set to take on Australia after the end of the IPL 2025 in the World Test Championship final next month in London, there have been some discomposure in the Aussie cricket fraternity over the drug episode. Paine felt that world cricket deserved to know every details of the case, including the name of the authoritative body who handled it.

"Not only will he play against Australia in the world Test championship, but he's also available to play now in the IPL," Paine said. "No one knew about what he's taken, what he was given or who the organising body that oversaw it was.

"If he is going to take drugs and be caught doing it, I think people deserve to know what he's taken, how long he is being rubbed out for and who sanctioned it (the suspension). People need to be held to account for stuff like that."

With Rabada having tested positive for recreational drugs, which include Cocaine, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA /Ecstasy), Diamorphine (Heroin) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (Cannabinoids), under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, the punishment for such a case is normally a three-month ban. However, the punishment can be reduced to merely a month if the athlete is able to prove that the consumption happened when not part of an event or a tournament and if the player has completed a Substance of Abuse treatment programme.