Keshav Maharaj

Keshav Athmanand Maharaj (born 7 February 1990) is a South African cricketer who plays for the South Africa national team in Test and ODI cricket. He made his debut in first-class cricket in 2006[1] and his Test debut in November 2015. He is a left-arm orthodox spin bowler and lower-order batsman. He plays for KwaZulu-Natal and Dolphins in domestic cricket.

Keshav Maharaj

Personal information
Full name	Keshav Athmanand Maharaj
Born	7 February 1990 Durban, Natal Province, South Africa
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	All rounder
International information
National side	South Africa (2016–present)
Test debut (cap 327)	3 November 2016 v Australia
Last Test	4 February 2021 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 120)	27 May 2017 v England
Last ODI	7 March 2020 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2006–present	KwaZulu-Natal
2009–present	Dolphins
2018	Lancashire (squad no. 27)
2018–present	Durban Heat (squad no. 16)
2019	Yorkshire (squad no. 27)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 34 5 123 92 Runs scored 721 27 3,044 593 Batting average 15.02 9.00 20.42 14.82 100s/50s 0/3 0/0 2/10 0/0 Top score 73 17 114* 43* Balls bowled 7,531 247 24,851 4,312 Wickets 120 7 465 114 Bowling average 33.79 35.28 26.75 30.71 5 wickets in innings 6 0 26 1 10 wickets in match 1 0 6 0 Best bowling 9/129 3/25 9/129 5/34 Catches/stumpings 10/– 0/– 44/– 32/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 4 February 2021

Domestic career

Born in Durban, Maharaj made his first-class debut at the age of 16 for KwaZulu-Natal in 2006-07.[2] He was promoted to the Dolphins team in 2009-10.

He toured Bangladesh with the South Africa Academy in April–May 2010, taking 13 wickets in the two four-day matches against Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy. He also took 4 for 12 off four overs, opening the bowling, in one of the T20 matches.[3] He played for South Africa A against the touring Bangladesh A team in 2010-11.

His best season with the bat so far has been 2012-13, when he made 481 first-class runs at an average of 48.10, including two centuries.[4] For KwaZulu-Natal against Northerns he made 114 not out off 119 balls and finished off the match by taking 5 for 12.[5]

For Dolphins against Cape Cobras in 2014-15 he took his best innings and match figures to that point: 6 for 58 and 10 for 145. Dolphins won, and he received the man of the match award.[6] He finished the season with 44 first-class wickets at an average of 26.18.[7]

He played for Cuckfield in the Sussex Premier League in 2013, and as Nelson's professional in the Lancashire League in 2015.[8] He was included in the KwaZulu-Natal cricket team squad for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup.[9]

In the first match of the 2016-17 season, playing for the Dolphins against the Warriors, he scored 72 then took 7 for 89 and 6 for 68 in an innings victory for the Dolphins, the first time he had taken seven wickets in an innings or 13 in a match.[10]

In October 2018, he was named in Durban Heat's squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament.[11][12]

After appearing for Lancashire in 2018, he played five matches for Yorkshire in the 2019 County Championship, taking 38 wickets at an average of 18.92, as the team finished in 5th place.[13]

In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the Durban Heat team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament.[14]

International career

In October 2016 he was named in South Africa's squad for their series against Australia. He made his Test debut against the Australians on 3 November 2016 and was instrumental in the collapse of Australian batting in the first innings by picking up three crucial wickets.[15] He was the first specialist spinner to make his Test debut at Perth.[16]

On 10 March 2017, against New Zealand he took his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests.[17] This is only the seventh five-for by a South African spinner in Tests against New Zealand.[18]

In April 2017, he was named in South Africa's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against England and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.[19][20] He made his ODI debut for South Africa against England on 27 May 2017.[21]

In May 2017, he was named International Newcomer of the Year at Cricket South Africa's annual awards.[22] In October 2017, he took his 50th wicket in Tests, during the first Test against Bangladesh.[23]

In July 2018, during the second Test match against Sri Lanka, he registered his best Test bowling figures in an innings of 9 for 124 and also registered the best ever bowling figures in a Test innings by a visiting bowler in Sri Lanka.[24] He also recorded the best ever bowling figures in a Test innings by a South African in Asia.[25][26] His figures of 9 for 124 are the second-best bowling figures by a South African in an innings of a Test after Hugh Tayfield and the best Test bowling figures by a South African since readmission to international cricket in 1991.[27][28] He became the second left-arm spinner, after Rangana Herath, to claim 9 wickets in a test innings.[29]

In August 2018, he was named in South Africa's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the one-off match against Sri Lanka, but he did not play in the fixture.[30]

In October 2019, during the series against India, Maharaj took his 100th wicket in Test cricket.[31]

In November 2020, Maharaj was named in South Africa's squad for their limited overs series against England.[32][33]

References

1. "Keshav Maharaj: The foodie who smashed the colour barrier".
2. "Keshav Maharaj lives his father's dream".
3. "South Africa Academy in Bangladesh 2010". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
4. "Batting in each season by Keshav Maharaj". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
5. "Northerns v KwaZulu-Natal 2012-13". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
6. "Cape Cobras v Dolphins 2014-15". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
7. "Bowling in each season by Keshav Maharaj". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
8. "South African all rounder signs as Nelson's pro for 2015 season". Pendle Today. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
9. KwaZulu-Natal Squad / Players – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
10. "Warriors v Dolphins 2016-17". Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
11. "Mzansi Super League - full squad lists". Sport24. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
12. "Mzansi Super League Player Draft: The story so far". Independent Online. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
13. Booth, Lawrence, ed. (2020). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2020 (157th ed.). London, UK: Bloomsbury. p. 717. ISBN 1-4729-7288-0. OCLC 1105153124.
14. "MSL 2.0 announces its T20 squads". Cricket South Africa. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
15. "South Africa tour of Australia, 1st Test: Australia v South Africa at Perth, Nov 3-7, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
16. "Maharaj - first spin debutant at Perth". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
17. "Honours even after Williamson's hundred". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
18. "A rare hundred, a rarer five-for". ESPN Cricinfogff. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
19. "South Africa picks Morkel for ICC Champions Trophy 2017". International Cricket Council. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
20. "Morkel, Maharaj in South Africa squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
21. "South Africa tour of England, 2nd ODI: England v South Africa at Southampton, May 27, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
22. "De Kock dominates South Africa's awards". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
23. "New-look SA attack takes on weakened tourists". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
24. Staff, CricketCountry (2018-07-20). "Keshav Maharaj stuns SL with 8/116". Cricket Country. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
25. "SL 277-9: Keshav Maharaj's eight wickets throttles Sri Lanka". SA Cricket | OPINION | PLAYERS | TEAMS | FEATURES | SAFFAS ABROAD. 2018-07-20. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
26. "Live Cricket Score: Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 2nd Test, Day 1, Colombo, Maharaj creates historical moment with 8 wicket haul". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
27. "Maharaj's nine-for: South Africa's second-best". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
28. "Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
29. "Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
30. "Chance for South Africa to finish Sri Lanka tour on a high". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
31. "Keshav Maharaj Gets His 100th Wicket Dismissing Ajinkya Rahane During IND vs SA, 2nd Test 2019 Day 2". Latestly. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
32. "Uncapped Glenton Stuurnman in South Africa white-ball squads". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
33. "CSA name Proteas squad for inbound England tour". Cricket South Africa. Retrieved 6 November 2020.

External links

• Keshav Maharaj at ESPNcricinfo