Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 8 (ANI): South Africa captain Temba Bavuma revealed that the talismanic batter Hashim Amla has put Kagiso Rabada in the same bracket as the legendary Proteas tearaway Dale Steyn and is willing to take it one further.

Rabada spearheaded South Africa's pace attack during the World Test Championship final against Australia and dazzled with match figures of 9/110. With the new ball in hand, he delivered a spectacle at the Lord's, with his swinging and seaming deliveries, drawing a breath of sigh from the Australian camp, when the ball zoomed past the bat. His valiant effort with the ball ended South Africa's decade-long wait for an ICC title.

The 30-year-old's prowess reflects across all formats, but the red-ball format is where he truly sparkles. He is fourth on South Africa's all-time wicket-takers list in Test format and possesses the best strike rate in the game for anyone with more than 200 wickets in the format among Proteas.

With a current tally of 336, Rabada is 103 scalps shy of levelling Steyn's feat of 439 Test wickets. If Rabada is able to sustain his form for a couple of more years, he will have his last dance as South Africa's most successful bowler. Even Bavuma admitted that statistics sing Rabada's genuine praise.

'If you look at it statistically, that speaks for itself. I was actually having a conversation with Hashim Amla a couple of days ago where he spoke about Dale Steyn in his era. He said Kagiso Rabada, he's the bowler who is at the same level as Dale Steyn, arguably could be even a bit better. So I think the fact that that conversation is being had by a great like him speaks massive volumes for a guy like KG,' Bavuma said on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai on Tuesday.

'As a captain, I'm super privileged to be able to call upon him. He takes charge of the bowling, of the fast bowler. He sets the standards, and the guys follow him. And I'm sure he'll probably continue for a couple of more years as long as that hunger is there. But KG will definitely go down as one of the greats of the game. Statistically, the character of the person, I think that's his biggest thing. His competitiveness and his hunger to remain the number one bowler in the world,' he added.

Bavuma also weighed in on top-order wicketkeeper batter Quinton de Kock's recent decision to reverse his ODI retirement. Towards the end of the last month, de Kock, who retired from 50-over cricket after the 2023 ODI World Cup, reversed his decision and committed himself to the national team.

Bavuma revealed that the thought of returning to the format had been lingering in his long-time friend's mind before the Champions Trophy, which ran from February to March this year.

'I'm quite a little bit biased when it comes to Quinton. I grew up playing with Quinton from school cricket. So, the fact that he's back again, I'm as excited as a lot of fans out there. I think, like you said, there's quite a lot of batters, young batters especially, who have put up their names. So, he's obviously going to have to do what he needs to do from a run-scoring point of view. I don't think he's oblivious to that. It's not the case that he's getting an easy pass into the team. He wants to be a part of what has been created within the team,' he said.

'I chatted to him earlier this year, in January, just before we were going to the Champions Trophy. And there he started kind of throwing out the fact that he'd like to be available. Before he went and spoke to Shukri, he spoke to me. He made it clear that that's what he'd like to do. And we will support him. Quinton is one of the good guys within the system, super talented player. So, if it's Quinton who batted in the 2023 50-over World Cup, I don't think anyone would say no to that. Like I said, I'm a bit biased to it, but super happy that he's back and available,' he added. (ANI)