IND v SA | One of many things I love about cricket is it treats everyone equal, says Lungi Ngidi

As a child, his life wasn’t a bed of roses, but once he stepped onto the cricket field, all the inequalities — be it social or financial — seemed to vanish with talent being the only factor that really counted. 

"Once you are playing cricket on the field, everyone is pretty equal. The only thing that matters is your talent. Your financial background plays no role in how you hold a bat or a ball. For me, that was one of the main things why I loved cricket. It didn't define who I was as a person (socially or financially),” Ngidi told PTI. 

Ngidi had seen poverty up close as a child, but these days the 23-year-old fast bowler has been making rapid strides in international cricket. As he looks ahead to build on his four Tests and 22 ODIs, he fondly remembered all the sacrifices his parents had to make to support his career.

"I was aware from a very young age obviously that my parents weren't as well off as other families but we did make ends meet. But I never put them under any pressure to provide things that were outside of their comfort zone and range. I was okay with that," Ngidi said.

"It was a bit of a struggle at the start but I had a lot of people who were willing to help out as my parents couldn't afford kits and stuff like that. The school that I went to, a lot of parents whose kids I played with, would pitch in with batting pads or bats. To this day, I haven't forgotten them. I still thank them for the opportunities that they gave me," he continued.

Today, he — and Kagiso Rabada, another black-African — is being looked at as the two frontline options to carry the mantle of pace bowling forward. 

"KG (Rabada) and I did play a lot of school cricket together. Come to think of it, it's pretty awesome to come out to the international scene and play together. We get along very well and that relationship makes it a lot easier on the field in terms of communicating as well," Ngidi added.

Ngidi, who has been nursing an injury since South Africa's horrendous World Cup campaign, is hopeful of featuring in the third and final Test match against India which starts on Saturday.