SOUTH AFRICAN fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, said he was serving a provisional suspension for failing a drugs test.

The 29-year-old returned home from the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he was playing for Gujarat Titans at the start of last month to “deal with an important personal matter”.

He has now confirmed it was because he “returned an adverse analytical finding for the use of a recreational drug”.

Neither Rabada nor Cricket South Africa (CSA), which confirmed the findings of the test, has disclosed the drug or the length of his provisional ban.

Rabada is due to play in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s, when South Africa will face Australia from 11-15 June.

“I am deeply sorry to all those that I have let down,” said Rabada, who has played 241 times for South Africa across all formats, in a statement released by the South African Cricketers’ Association.

“I will never take the privilege of playing cricket for granted. This privilege is much larger than me. It goes beyond my personal aspirations.

“I am serving a provisional suspension and I am looking forward to returning to the game I love playing.”

Cricket South Africa said: “The incident is regrettable,” and added

“However, Rabada has reassured CSA and his fans of his commitment to upholding professional standards and has restated his passion to the sport of cricket and the country he represents with purpose.”

Rabada had been in good form and in October he became just the sixth South African cricketer to reach 300 Test wickets.

He was the quickest-ever cricketer to reach the landmark in terms of deliveries bowled, taking 11,817 balls.

He played in the Titans’ first two IPL matches this season, taking two wickets before flying home.

It is unclear if he will return to the competition with the Titans this season, with four matches of the regular season remaining.

Rabada added: “Moving forward, this moment will not define me. I will keep doing what I have always done, continuously working hard and playing with passion and devotion to my craft.”(BBC Sport).