💥Bharat always celebrated like this.
It was never to be known if the contributor was rich or poor, everyone sat together and had prasad after the bhog to the Bhagwan.
Back in 2017, Delhi Daredevils handed a debut to a tall kid from Johannesburg who ran in like he was late for a train. 21 years old, fast, angry, bounce that smacked you in throat even on dead Indian decks.
In just two seasons, 2019 & 2020, he grabbed 55 wickets , won the Purple Cap in 2020 with 30 scalps & dragged Delhi to their first IPL final.
13th April 2023, Mohali. Wriddhiman Saha mistimed a pull & Rabada had his 100th wicket in 64 matches. Malinga needed 70. Rabada needed just 1438 balls for these 100 wickets.
Then the leak started. Slow, barely visible, until the floor was soaked. Between 2023 & start of 2026, he managed 20 wickets in 21 IPL games across 3 seasons. Economy climbing past 10. On flat Indian tracks, batters lined him up. No threat, no fear. Just a fast bowler running in hard & getting hit harder.
2025 was his professional nadir. 2 wickets in 4 games, average of 81, economy of 11.57. Then came the suspension for Recreational drugs. He sat in hotel rooms watching teammates play in what he called a magnificent setup, unable to join them. He said later it was really disappointing. That is mild language for a 30 year old in his prime, the fastest to 100 IPL wickets, now the slowest to remember why he bowled fast at all.
But Nehra & Titans staff did something clever. They stopped pretending he was a death bowler. Instead, they turned him into a powerplay assassin. 3 overs in first six. Bowl fast & full. Attack the stumps. Use that bounce he has always owned. Let Siraj handle the other end. Let Rashid & Prasidh clean up the middle. Rabada's brief was simple: break the top order, make a mess early.
He has taken most no. of powerplay wickets in this IPL season: 11 & 2nd on the Purple Cap race with 16 wickets.
Here is what makes this comeback different. Rabada did not merely find his rhythm. He found his speed again. Most fast bowlers trade pace for control as they age. It is natural, sensible, expected. Rabada went the other way. In 2026, he is consistently above 145 kph. He has hit 153.6. He is outpacing Jofra Archer. At 31, after a drug suspension, after 3 years of being ordinary in IPL, he is bowling faster than he has in years.
IPL fans will forget the 81 average in 2025. They will remember the 152.1 kph inswinger to SKY in 2026. They will remember that the fastest to 100 became something else for a while, then became fast again. Not because of luck. Because he decided to.