Now, almost exactly four years later, the very same kid from Johannesburg will return once again to the land where it all started for him, but this time around, not as the rookie whose credentials are being questioned, but as the connoisseur who almost single-handedly carries the hope of an entire nation. Indeed, the rise of Kagiso Rabada has been nothing short of remarkable. Who could have ever imagined that a country that had already produced Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander - two of the greatest pacers of the 21st century - would go on to produce another pacer with statistics superior to the aforementioned duo? Quite absurd, but sometimes, that’s just how the game of cricket works.

Since his Test debut against India in 2015, only two bowlers have taken more wickets than Rabada and none at a better rate than him. His strike rate of 38.8 is the best for any bowler in the history of the game to have taken more than 150 wickets and he is all set to breach the 200-wicket barrier at just the age of 24. 

Yet, somehow, there is little hype surrounding him heading into the Tests against India. He is perceived to be an “on his day” bowler and while all focus heading into the series has been on India’s spin twins - and even Ishant Sharma -  Rabada finds himself at the end of the queue waiting to make a case, going completely unnoticed by the mob. 

But that shouldn’t be the case, should it? It is no surprise that Rabada has been overshadowed by his counterparts Pat Cummins, Jofra Archer, and Jasprit Bumrah over the course of the last 12 months; three bowlers with the same pace, the same skill and flamboyance as Rabada, only that they’ve been consistent across formats unlike the South African. Cummins, for all the talk of him being a line and length bowler, possesses an outstanding record in limited-overs and the exploits of Bumrah and Archer in the games shorter formats speak for themselves. 

But as is the case with many a player, cricket has shown us in the past that white and coloured clothing can be two completely different sports. Take the case of Steve Smith for that matter; itchy and twitchy in the World Cup and while he did steady the ship in a couple of matches, he was nowhere near his best. But cometh the moment in red-ball cricket, he acquired blunt superhuman powers, finding a nonpareil comfort zone, thwarting the opposition away with his “This is my territory and you shall not breach it” attitude. As soon as the formats change, a switch gets subliminally triggered within himself, giving him a sense of calm, self-assurance and the feeling of operating in a fortress. 

Rabada’s case is no different. A combination of recency bias, his depleting limited-overs form and the rise of the holy trio of Cummins, Bumrah and Archer has meant that the South African has gone under the radar and now finds himself at the very end of the line, in desperate need of a head-turning performance to get himself back to the forefront, despite being as good as anyone in the game’s longest format. But now, with Test cricket looming, there’s every reason - for Rabada himself and the general public - to believe that world cricket, in a couple of months time, will be talking about him again as the poster boy of fast bowling of this decade, for it's a proven fact that he is a King in Whites.

He, too, is aware of the fact that the spotlight that was once on him all the time exists no more and has been swayed away by his compatriots. “The media hypes certain players, and that's OK; I know I have been playing very well. Archer is such a natural talent; Bumrah is doing wonders and that can force you to lift your game. You are not always at the top, that's one thing I can tell you." he told ESPNcricinfo last month. An extremely level-headed, mature response, but hey, you just know that there’s that burning desire within him to get back to the top, an unbridled rage - though not apparent - to be the very best.  

Now, heading into the Tests against India, his side will be without the services of a certain Dale Steyn in the sub-continent nation for the first time in over 14 years, a man who has rewritten history books with his exploits in the country. But as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens and for Rabada, a guy who has thrived under pressure, is addicted to success and has used competition has his preferred choice of drug to get high every now and then, a cricketer who has seen conflict and controversy bring the best out of him and has always answered his team’s calls when they’ve been in dire need of a saviour, this tour of India is a coming together of sorts. 

The cameras will be on Rohit Sharma and not him, the onus will not be on pace but spin and the absence of Bumrah will be discussed more than the presence of his own towering self. In Visakhapatnam, Rabada might just feel like a ghost, an invisible presence that people fail to acknowledge, but he for a fact will know that for more than one reason, this will be his biggest challenge yet. 

The bragging rights are no more and the limelight - his identity - which has been his birthright ever since he made his international debut, has been stolen away and now the onus is on him to fight for it and regain it.  But if there’s one thing we’ve learned in his career it’s the fact that he always rises up to the occasion, asserts his authority and always wins back what’s his. Maybe, just maybe, KG Rabada badly needs this series to go his way to go back to where he truly belongs. The stage is set and we, for a fact, know that there’s no one better in world cricket to steal the show than the South African.