12 Facts about Keshav Maharaj: The Indian origin spin specialist for the Proteas

Keshav Maharaj, the left-arm orthodox spinner from Natal became the 327th cricketer to play Test cricket for South Africa. In 76 first-class games, he has taken 275 wickets with 13 fifers and 2 ten-wicket match hauls. With the bat, he averages 22 with two centuries and 7 fifties. Here are some interesting facts about the young spinner.

1. Born on: 

He was born in Durban on 7 February 1990.

2. Indian connection:

Keshav Maharaj is of an Indian origin. His father Athmanand was an Indian who played as a wicketkeeper for the Natal province. He couldn’t play at the Test level because of the apartheid era and lost his cricket career to the International sporting boycott. His grandfather was also a cricketer.

3. Kiran More’s prediction:

Maharaj’s father has good relations with India cricketers including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Kiran More. More had once turned into a clairvoyant and rightly predicted that Maharaj, who was barely three at that time, would go on to become a spinner. More became a family friend and remains in touch.

4. Inclined towards sports since a tender age:

He started playing cricket at the age of 3. But, he was initially interested playing football and played the sport till 13 before transitioning to cricket full-time.

5. Starts out as a seamer: 

He began his life as a seamer and batsman in the Bakers Mini-Cricket programme, a developmental scheme for primary school kids.

6. Suddenly turns into a spinner:

In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Keshav revealed that he switched to spin bowling without any prior thoughts of doing so. He said that one day in the nets, he was “mad about something” and decided to bowl spin, nobody stopped him from making the switch and the new bowling style simply stuck and changed his fortunes.

7. A total foodie:

He is a foodie and cared less about fitness during his junior cricket days. This passion for eating eventually cost him an Under-19 World Cup berth in 2008 after he was possibly ignored due to his weight and fitness issues.

8. First-class debut:

Keshav made his debut in professional cricket at the age of 20, for Kwa-Zulu Natal in 2006-07 before moving on to Dolphins in 2009.

9. Re-invents himself to grab the limelight:

He enjoyed a successful time at the age group level. But, being slightly overweight always caused him problems. His exclusion from the Under-19 squad made him determined and he worked harder on his fitness. Later, a slimmer Keshav bagged a rookie contract with Dolphins and continued making progress at the provincial level. In the 2014-15 season, he was sixth on the first-class wicket-takers charts with 36 at 29.38. Last season he was seventh with the same number of wickets at 32.

10. Fulfilling dad’s dreams:

Keshav Maharaj made his debut on November 3, 2016, against Australia at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) stadium, Perth. He is the first spinner to debut at this venue.

11. An able batsman:

His best season with the bat so far was the 2012-13 season, when he made 481 first-class runs at an average of 48.10.

12. Always found in his mother’s kitchen:

Apart from cricket, cooking is Keshav’s hobby. If he wasn’t a cricketer he would have become a chef. He also runs a food blog and has been a part of cooking shows on the local radio station East Coast Radio.