{"id":6989,"date":"2026-04-22T12:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/kagiso-rabada-gujarat-titans-kagiso-rabada-caught-smoking-in-hotel-premises-watch-cricket-news\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T12:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:16:14","slug":"kagiso-rabada-gujarat-titans-kagiso-rabada-caught-smoking-in-hotel-premises-watch-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/kagiso-rabada-gujarat-titans-kagiso-rabada-caught-smoking-in-hotel-premises-watch-cricket-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Kagiso Rabada: Gujarat Titans&#8217; Kagiso Rabada caught smoking in hotel premises &#8211; Watch | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130434101,imgsize-564864,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/130434101.jpg\" alt=\"Gujarat Titans' Kagiso Rabada caught smoking in hotel premises - Watch\" title=\"Rabada caught smoking (Screengrab\/X)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Rabada caught smoking (Screengrab\/X)\">Rabada caught smoking (Screengrab\/X)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/player-profile\/kagiso-rabada\/63611\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Kagiso Rabada<\/a> has once again found himself at the center of public attention, but this time not for his fiery spells with the ball. The Gujarat Titans speedster is trending across social media after being spotted smoking in a hotel premises alongside team staff, igniting debate among fans and critics alike.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>The footage, reportedly filmed from a balcony at the team hotel, captured the Gujarat Titans fast bowler smoking in an open area. While smoking a cigarette does not violate any anti-doping regulations or professional codes in cricket, the optics of the incident have raised eyebrows. As a high-profile international athlete and role model, Rabada\u2019s actions have been scrutinized more intensely, especially considering his recent disciplinary past.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>This incident comes on the back of a much more serious episode in 2025 that briefly halted Rabada\u2019s career momentum. During the SA20 league earlier that year, the South African pacer tested positive for cocaine metabolites (benzoylecgonine), leading to a provisional suspension.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>He was sidelined from April 1 to May 1, 2025, missing a crucial phase of the IPL season. However, Rabada managed to avoid a lengthier ban after successfully proving that the substance was consumed out of competition. His cooperation with authorities and completion of a substance abuse treatment program played a key role in resolving the case.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>Despite returning to professional cricket, the shadow of that controversy still lingers, making even minor off-field incidents like this one more amplified in public discourse.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3><keyword id=\"21910630\" type=\"General\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"social-media-reaction\" source=\"keywords\">Social Media Reaction<\/keyword>: Divided Opinions<br \/><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>The recent smoking incident has triggered mixed reactions online. While some fans argue that it is a personal choice and should not be overanalyzed, others believe elite athletes carry a responsibility to uphold a certain standard, both on and off the field.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/> <\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\".\" msid=\"130433950\" width=\"\" title=\"Screenshot 1\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-130433950\/.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Screenshot 1<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/> <\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\".\" msid=\"130433968\" width=\"\" title=\"Screenshot 2\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-130433968\/.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Screenshot 2<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/> <\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\".\" msid=\"130434036\" width=\"\" title=\"Screenshot 3\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-130434036\/.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Screenshot 3<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>Amid the noise, Rabada\u2019s on-field performances remain solid. Representing Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026, he has already claimed 10 wickets in six matches, continuing to be a vital cog in the team\u2019s bowling attack. <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/ipl\/ipl-2026\/gujarat-titans-kagiso-rabada-caught-smoking-in-hotel-premises-watch\/articleshow\/130433634.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rabada caught smoking (Screengrab\/X) Kagiso Rabada has once again found himself at the center of public attention, but this time not for his fiery spells with the ball. The Gujarat Titans speedster is trending across social media after being spotted smoking in a hotel premises alongside team staff, igniting debate among fans and critics alike.The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6989","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}