Gujarat Titans (GT) assistant coach Ashish Kapoor said that there is a chance that Kagiso Rabada might return to partake in the second half of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The speedster returned home during the early stages of the campaign due to personal reasons, but the franchise did not name a replacement in the meantime.

Rabada, roped in for INR 10.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction, made his debut for GT in the home encounter against his former franchise, the Punjab Kings (PBKS), in Ahmedabad. The pacer also featured in the home win over the Mumbai Indians (MI), but has been unavailable ever since.

GT recently named Dasun Shanaka as the replacement for the injured Glenn Phillips. However, they have refrained from taking a similar stance for Rabada’s unavailability because he might be in line for a return.

Ashish Kapoor revealed that Rabada had to return due to a family problem, but could be part of the squad again for the season should the issue be resolved in time.

“We picked Dasun Shanaka as the replacement for Glenn Phillips, but I don’t know about the replacement for Kagiso Rabada, that’s news to me. We are just waiting for him, he might just return. There is a chance that he might join, but he has got some family problem, for which he has gone,” Kapoor said during the pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend clash against DC (via InsideSport).

“Once he is sorted out with that in time, he’ll be back. We don’t know when, and we’re just waiting as everyone else,” he added.

GT have not felt Rabada’s absence as of yet in the season, with their bowling attack performing relatively well. The pace attack, spearheaded by Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, have taken a combined 20 wickets so far, while Sai Kishore is also among the leading spinners in the competition.

Left-arm pacers Arshad Khan and Kulwant Khejroliya made it to the playing XI as the third seam-bowling option since Rabada’s departure.

Kagiso Rabada picked up a wicket apiece in each of his two appearances in IPL 2025

The South African pacer was relatively expensive in GT’s matches against PBKS and MI in the early stages of the season. He made a strong first impression by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh in just his second over for the franchise.

Rabada conceded 41 runs in the high-scoring encounter, and the tally increased to 42 in the subsequent clash against MI. He took Hardik Pandya’s wicket during the 36-run win.