Keshav Atmanand Maharaj (born 7 February 1990) is a South African professional

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who plays for the South Africa national team in

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) and

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

(T20I) cricket. He is currently the vice-captain of the side in

limited overs cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...

. He made his debut in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

in 2006 and his Test debut in November 2016. He is a left-arm orthodox spin bowler and lower-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

. He plays for

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

and

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

in domestic cricket. In June 2021, Maharaj became just the second bowler for South Africa to take a hat-trick in a Test match. In September 2021, Maharaj captained South Africa for the first time, in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. In September 2021, Maharaj made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka, captaining the team in his debut match.

Early life

Keshav was born on the beach of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

to Atmanand and Kanchan Mala. His forefathers hailed from

Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh Sultanpur is a city situated on the banks of holy river Gomti in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Sultanpur District and is a part of Faizabad division in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated 135 kilo ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and arrived in Durban in 1874.

Domestic career

Maharaj made his first-class debut at the age of 16 for KwaZulu-Natal in 2006–07. He was promoted to the Dolphins team in 2009–10. Maharaj toured

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

with the South Africa Academy in April–May 2010, taking 13

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

s in the two four-day matches against Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy. He also took 4 for 12 off four overs, opening the

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

, in one of the T20 matches. He played for South Africa A against the touring Bangladesh A team in 2010–11. Maharaj's 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. For KwaZulu-Natal against Northerns, he made 114 not out off 119 balls and finished off the match by taking 5 for 12. For Dolphins against

Cape Cobras The Six Gun Grill Cape Cobras are a franchise cricket team representing the Western Province, Boland, and South Western Districts areas in South African domestic cricket. The team's home venues are Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, Boland ...

in 2014–15, Maharaj took his best

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

and match figures to that point: 6 for 58 and 10 for 145. Dolphins won, and he received the man of the match award. He finished the season with 44 first-class wickets at an average of 26.18. Maharaj played for Cuckfield in the Sussex Premier League in 2013, and as Nelson's professional in the Lancashire League in 2015. He was included in the

KwaZulu-Natal cricket team KwaZulu-Natal (formerly Natal) is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly Natal) in South Africa. For the purposes of the Sunfoil Series, KwaZulu-Natal is the only team that has not merged with another a ...

squad for the

2015 Africa T20 Cup The 2015 Africa T20 Cup was a Twenty20 cricket tournament held in South Africa from 4 September to 4 October 2015, as a curtain-raiser to the 2015–16 South African domestic season. Organized by Cricket South Africa, it featured thirteen South Af ...

. In the first match of the 2016–17 season, playing for the Dolphins against the

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

, Maharaj 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 wickets in a match. In October 2018, Maharaj was named in

Durban Heat Durban Heat were a franchise team of the South African Mzansi Super League (MSL) Twenty20 cricket tournament. The team were based at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban. Durban Heat played in the first two editions of the MLS in 2018 Mzansi Su ...

's squad for the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

of the

Mzansi Super League The Mzansi Super League (MSL) was a Twenty20 cricket (T20) franchise league held in South Africa. The competition was established in 2018 by Cricket South Africa (CSA) as a replacement for the failed T20 Global League, but only two editions wer ...

T20 tournament. After appearing for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

in 2018, Maharaj played five matches for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in the

2019 County Championship The 2019 County Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2019 Specsavers County Championship, was the 120th cricket County Championship season. As in 2018, Division One had eight teams and Division Two had ten teams. The first round of ...

, taking 38 wickets at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 18.92, as the team finished in 5th place. In September 2019, Maharaj was named in the squad for the

team for the

2019 Mzansi Super League The 2019 Mzansi Super League, also known as the MSL 2.0, was the second edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) Twenty20 (T20) franchise cricket tournament in South Africa. It started on 8 November and ended on 16 December 2019. Jozi Stars wer ...

tournament. In April 2021, he was named in

's squad, ahead of the 2021–22 cricket season in South Africa.

International career

In October 2016, Maharaj was named in South Africa's squad for their series against Australia. He made his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

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. He was the first specialist

spinner Technology *Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI * Spinner (MIT Med ...

to make his Test debut at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. On 10 March 2017, against New Zealand, Maharaj took his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests. This was only the seventh five-for by a South African spinner in Tests against New Zealand. In April 2017, Maharaj was named in South Africa's

(ODI) squad for their series against England and the

2017 ICC Champions Trophy The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was the eighth ICC Champions Trophy, a cricket tournament for the eight top-ranked One Day International (ODI) teams in the world. It was held in England and Wales from 1 to 18 June 2017. Pakistan won the competitio ...

. He made his ODI debut for South Africa against England on 27 May 2017. In May 2017, Maharaj was named International Newcomer of the Year at

Cricket South Africa Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Afr ...

's annual awards. In October 2017, he took his 50th wicket in Tests, during the first Test against Bangladesh. In July 2018, during the second Test match against Sri Lanka, Maharaj registered his best Test bowling figures in an innings of 9 for 129 and also registered the best ever bowling figures in a Test innings by a visiting bowler in Sri Lanka. He also recorded the best ever bowling figures in a Test innings by a South African in Asia. His figures of 9 for 129 are the second-best bowling figures by a South African in an innings of a Test after

Hugh Tayfield Hugh Joseph Tayfield (30 January 1929 – 24 February 1994) was a South African international cricketer. He played 37 Test matches for South Africa between 1949 and 1960 and was one of the best off spinners the game has seen. He was the faste ...

and the best Test bowling figures by a South African since readmission to international cricket in 1991. He became the second left-arm spinner, after

Rangana Herath Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath ( si, රංගන හේරත්; ta, ரங்கன ஹெரத்; born 19 March 1978), known as Rangana Herath, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all forms of the game and a f ...

, to claim 9 wickets in a test innings. In August 2018, Maharaj was named in South Africa's

(T20I) squad for the one-off match against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, but he did not play in the fixture. In October 2019, during the series against India, Maharaj took his 100th wicket in Test cricket. In November 2020, Maharaj was named in South Africa's squad for their

limited overs Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...

series against England. On 21 June 2021, Maharaj took South Africa's second ever

Test hat-trick In the sport of cricket, a Hat-trick (cricket), hat-trick is an occasion where a bowler (cricket), bowler takes three wickets in consecutive delivery (cricket), deliveries, dismissal (cricket), dismissing three different batsman, batsmen. As of J ...

, and first since

Geoff Griffin Geoffrey Merton Griffin (12 June 1939 – 16 November 2006) was a Test cricketer who toured England with the South African cricket team in 1960, appearing in two Test matches. A right-arm, fast bowler and lower order batsman, his selection fo ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

in 1960, during the fourth day of the second Test match of 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 The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament, with the matches played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from 17 October to 14 November 2021. The West Indies were the defending champions, but were eventua ...

despite being uncapped in T20Is. He made his T20I debut on 10 September 2021, for South Africa against

, as the team's captain, and took a wicket with his first ball in T20Is. He also helped South Africa win the series 3-0 after South Africa lost the ODI series to Sri Lanka 2–1.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Keshav 1990 births Dolphins cricketers KwaZulu-Natal cricketers Lancashire cricketers Living people South African cricketers South Africa Test cricketers South Africa One Day International cricketers South Africa Twenty20 International cricketers South African people of Indian descent Cricketers from Durban Yorkshire cricketers Alumni of Northwood School, Durban People from eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Test cricket hat-trick takers 20th-century South African people 21st-century South African people