Rabada's angry goodbye to Dhawan could spell trouble

Rabada waved towards the departing batsman before pointing him in the direction of the pavilion with a flourish. Onlookers needn't have been qualified lipreaders to see what the paceman said to Dhawan, either

^{Kagiso Rabada gave Shikhar Dhawan a send-off in Port Elizabeth}

Kagiso Rabada could find himself in trouble with match referee Andy Pycroft after giving Shikhar Dhawan an exaggerated send-off during the fifth one-day international between South Africa and India.

Rabada, who had been expensive in his first spell after South Africa chose to bowl first in Port Elizabeth, dismissed Dhawan with a short ball in the eighth over of the game, which the Indian batsman pulled straight to Andile Phelukwayo at deep backward square leg.

Whether it had been the treatment he had been getting from Dhawan, who had taken Rabada for five boundaries at that point, or whether the bowler simply had it in for his opponent is unclear.

What was blatant, however, was Rabada waving towards the departing batsman before pointing him in the direction of the pavilion with a flourish.

Onlookers needn't have been qualified lipreaders to see what the paceman said to Dhawan, either.

Rabada has previous when it comes to losing his rag with the opposition on the field of play.

Last year, he was fined 15 per cent of his match fee during the first Test against England after telling Ben Stokes to "f*** off".

^{Dhawan was caught in the deep}

That action brought him a demerit point, which, when added to the three he received after being charged with “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” with Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella during a one-day international in February 2017, led to a one-match suspension.

Despite the loss of their opener for 34, India put together a solid platform as they looked to complete series victory.

Rohit Sharma passed 50 and added 105 with Virat Kohli for the second wicket before the captain was run out by JP Duminy.

With 19 overs remaining, the tourists sat on 174 for two.

What do you think about Rabada's send-off? An excusable heat-of-the-moment action or ill-discipline that needs to be scrubbed out? Let us know by commenting below, emailing website@thecricketer.com or using the hashtag #cricketer on social media.