Proteas pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, reckons that he can still get even better.
Ahead of Thursday’s 10.30am start to the second Test against Pakistan, it must be a scary warning to the visitors as South Africa look to clinch the three-Test series at Newlands after winning the Boxing Day Test last week.
Last year, Rabada, 23, bagged a staggering 52 Test wickets at an average of 20.07.
But King KG believes that even with those numbers and his ranking, he still not on top of his game.
He says: “There are always things you want to improve on. You never really arrive ever.
“I think it is just the way I am, always looking for places to improve on. But at the same time, I have learnt to acknowledge my strengths and realise that things won’t come so quickly.
“There are obviously a few goals that I would like to achieve and the team as well. So, just improving on a few things I can do better than what I did last year."
This is certainly not welcoming for the tourists, who were rolled over within three days in the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion last week.
The visitors’ batting unit, particularly, has been under pressure with senior players such as Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and captain Safraz Ahmed suffering the most criticism.
It is possible for this reason that Rabada is paying no attention to reports of Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur delivering the hairdryer treatment to his senior batsmen after the collapse at SuperSport Park or that batting coach Grant Flower has admitted that “the atmosphere isn’t the best at the moment” within the visitors’ camp.
Instead, the Proteas spearhead believes this situation could possibly provide a source of motivation for a team that likes nothing more than giving their critics the proverbial middle finger.
KG adds of his opponents: “They are a never-say-die team. You never quite know what they can throw at you.
“They have some quality bowlers and they have some batsmen that have shown they can hang around.
"We have our work cut out for us.”