Father: Athmanand Maharaj, Mother: Kanchan Mala, Wife: Lerisha Munsamy, Sister: Tarisma Mahesan
Keshav Maharaj is a vastly experienced left-arm orthodox spinner who has become the backbone of South Africa’s spin attack across all formats. The 36-year-old from Durban attended Northwood Boys High, the alma mater of Shaun Pollock, and initially started his cricketing journey as a pace bowler before switching to spin on a whim in the nets. That decision proved transformative, as Maharaj’s exceptional accuracy and ability to take wickets at crucial moments made him one of the leading spinners in South Africa’s domestic competition during the mid-2010s. He made his Test debut at the WACA in Australia in 2016, an unusual venue for a spinner, but impressed with 3 for 56 in the first innings and an unbeaten 41 with the bat. Maharaj has since become a mainstay in all formats, known for his relentless accuracy, subtle variations, and invaluable contributions with the bat down the order. In franchise cricket, he has represented multiple teams including the Dolphins, Durban’s Super Giants, Pretoria Capitals, and most recently the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
| Batting & Fielding | ||||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
| Tests | 62 | 95 | 8 | 1334 | 84 | 15.33 | 2197 | 60.71 | 0 | 6 | 153 | 29 | 23 | 0 |
| ODIs | 56 | 31 | 8 | 324 | 40 | 14.08 | 403 | 80.39 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| T20Is | 54 | 19 | 7 | 107 | 41 | 8.91 | 127 | 84.25 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 0 |
| FC | 170 | 242 | 30 | 4252 | 114* | 20.05 | 6298 | 67.51 | 2 | 18 | 507 | 113 | 65 | 0 |
| List A | 155 | 91 | 27 | 1058 | 50* | 16.53 | 1227 | 86.22 | 0 | 1 | 91 | 26 | 52 | 0 |
| T20s | 218 | 106 | 46 | 817 | 45* | 13.61 | 781 | 104.60 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 27 | 65 | 0 |
| Bowling | ||||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w | |
| Tests | 62 | 106 | 12308 | 6370 | 218 | 9/129 | 12/283 | 29.22 | 3.10 | 56.4 | 6 | 12 | 1 | |
| ODIs | 56 | 55 | 2885 | 2272 | 73 | 5/33 | 5/33 | 31.12 | 4.72 | 39.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| T20Is | 54 | 54 | 1103 | 1447 | 55 | 3/24 | 3/24 | 26.30 | 7.87 | 20.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| FC | 170 | 284 | 34958 | 17346 | 650 | 9/129 | 13/157 | 26.68 | 2.97 | 53.7 | 20 | 40 | 8 | |
| List A | 155 | 152 | 7604 | 5998 | 205 | 5/33 | 5/33 | 29.25 | 4.73 | 37.0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | |
| T20s | 218 | 208 | 4445 | 5278 | 191 | 4/15 | 4/15 | 27.63 | 7.12 | 23.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
He is a left-arm orthodox spinner who specializes in accuracy and wicket-taking, and also contributes useful runs with the bat lower down the order.
He currently represents the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League, having also played for Rajasthan Royals in the past.
He made his Test debut at the WACA in Australia in November 2016, taking 3 for 56 in the first innings.
He has been a consistent performer across all formats, known for his accuracy, subtle variations, and ability to take wickets at key moments. He is also a capable lower-order batter.
He represents the Dolphins in South African domestic cricket and has also played for KwaZulu-Natal.
He initially started as a pace bowler but switched to spin on a whim in the nets one afternoon at school, finding that it worked well and sticking with it.
In the opening first-class match of the 2016-17 season, he picked up 13 for 157 for the Dolphins, which earned him a Test call-up.
He has represented several teams including Durban's Super Giants, Pretoria Capitals, Texas Super Kings, Barbados Royals, Fortune Barishal, and the Mumbai Indians.
He attended Northwood Boys High in Durban, the alma mater of Shaun Pollock.
He was born on February 7, 1990, in Durban, making him 36 years old.
