Name: Keshav Athmanand Maharaj
Keshav Athmanand Maharaj is a South African professional cricketer. Maharaj represents the South African national team in Tests, One Day International, and Twenty20 International cricket. He is currently the vice-captain of the side in limited-overs cricket. Maharaj also captains Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20. He is a left-arm orthodox spin bowler and lower-order batsman. He made his debut in first-class cricket for KwaZulu-Natal in 2006 and Test debut for South Africa in 2016. In September 2021, Maharaj captained South Africa for the first time in ODIs against Sri Lanka. He also made his T201 debut against Sri Lanka in the same month while also captaining the team in his debut match. Maharaj became the second bowler from South Africa to take hat-trick in a Test match in June 2021 against West Indies.
Maharaj made his first-class debut at the age of 16 for KwaZulu-Natal during the 2006-2007 season. In 2009-10, he represented the Dolphins team. Maharaj toured Bangladesh in with the South Africa A team in April 2010. In 2013, Maharaj played for Cuckfield in the Sussex Premier League and as Nelson’s professional in the Lancashire League in 2015. He was part of the KwaZulu-Natal squad for the Africa T20 Cup. Maharaj also played for Fortune Barishal in 2024 Bangladesh Premier League.
In 2016, Maharaj was named in South Africa’s squad for their series against Australia. In March 2017, Maharaj took his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests against New Zealand. In 2017, he was named in South Africa’s One Day International squad for their series against England and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. In May 2017, Maharaj was named International Newcomer of the Year at Cricket South Africa’s annual awards. In August 2018, Maharaj was named in South Africa’s Twenty20 International squad for the one-off match against Sri Lanka. In 2019, during the series against India, Maharaj took his 100th wicket in Test cricket.
In November 2020, he was named in South Africa’s squad for their limited-overs series against England. In June 2021, Maharaj took South Africa’s second-ever Test hat-trick in South Africa's tour of the West Indies.
In September 2021, Maharaj was named in South Africa’s squad for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He made his T20I debut for South Africa against Sri Lanka as the team’s captain. He also helped South Africa win the series 3-0.
