Keshav Maharaj's emergence as a South Africa lynchpin in Test cricket is unique for two reasons – one, he is of Indian origin. And two, he is a spinner.
In a 2018 interview, Keshav's father Athmanand outlined how his great great grandfather, originally from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, India, had landed in South Africa in 1874 as just one among a large number of Indians brought to the country as indentured labourers. Athmanand was a wicketkeeper in his playing days, and briefly represented the KwaZulu-Natal province. But in the 1970s and 80s, when racial tensions were at their peak, he never had a sniff of playing for South Africa.
The start of the 1990s saw two significant events – in 1990, Keshav Maharaj was born and in 1991, South Africa were readmitted to international cricket.
Later that decade Maharaj started his cricketing journey as a pace bowler before his father convinced him to take up spin, sensing an opportunity for his son due to a lack of quality spinners in the country.
Read more: Mohammad Huraira is ready to stake his claim amid Pakistan's revolving-door of openers
But the dearth of spinners was not an issue of supply, rather of demand. South Africa simply did not need very many spinners. Against this backdrop, there is a real argument to be made that Maharaj Sr.'s decision to turn his son into a spinner was ill-advised.
But, fast forward 30 years or so, and Keshav Maharaj has created history in Guyana, perhaps fittingly, as it is another country where a large section of the population can trace their roots back to India.
Jayden Seales, c Bedingham b Maharaj is what does it. He registers his 171st Test scalp, and becomes the Proteas' most prolific Test spinner ever. Hugh Tayfield, the man he beat, last played in 1960, three decades before Maharaj was born.
Maharaj's ancestry has close to no impact on his cricketing skills, but his name now being etched in South African cricketing history serves as a heartening reminder of the fall of the country's apartheid regime.
Keshav Maharaj: The early days
After taking 3-56 and 1-94 on Test debut in Perth, Maharaj enjoyed an unprecedented rise. He played Sri Lanka at home, New Zealand away and England away. Bags upon bags of wickets followed. 5-94 in Dunedin. 6-40 in Wellington. 4-85 at Lord's.
In September 2017, less than a year into his Test career, Maharaj took 3-92 and 4-25 against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom, getting to 50 wickets in 12 Test matches.
This was a mark dominated by subcontinental spinners – R Ashwin, Anil Kumble, Yasir Shah, Saeed Ajmal, Ajantha Mendis and the like. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Spinners were supposed to thrive in Asia, not exclusively outside it, as Maharaj had done until then.
Read more: Shamar Joseph reaffirms Brisbane potential on home shores with statement five-for
He would not play in Asia until July 2018. Up to that point, Maharaj had played in England, New Zealand and Australia, outside of South Africa. In the 'SENA' countries, considered to be the most unforgiving on spinners, his record stood at 74 wickets in 20 Tests at an average of 28.4 and a strike rate of a wicket roughly every nine overs. How much more dangerous could he be in the subcontinent?
The answer came soon. In his first match in Galle, Maharaj sent down 17 wicketless overs in the first innings before picking up 4-58. In Colombo, he then took a scarcely believable 9-129 before a less impressive 3-154. He was good, but perhaps not the game-breaking weapon it seemed he might be.
But even if the Sri Lanka tour was solid, Maharaj's next tour to Asia was a nightmare. Against India in October 2019, he played two matches, bowling 127 overs. He returned six wickets at an average of nearly 86, and went at over four runs an over. He did reach the 100-wicket mark in the second Test, though. Small joys.
The ICC have released pitch ratings for the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup, with the Afghanistan-South Africa semi-final rated as 'unsatisfactory'.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 20, 2024
Read here ➡️ https://t.co/cjM8noVvx1 pic.twitter.com/C19oNiSZyP
Will the real Maharaj please stand up?
Over the next couple of years, Maharaj began to fade somewhat from Test cricket's collective consciousness. He was still his side's first-choice spinner in red-ball cricket, but that always came with the caveat that he was from a country that just didn't produce very many – and didn't need to. Spin bowling was considered more of an afterthought in his neck of the woods.
Maharaj's form at the start of this decade didn't help either. From 2020 to 2022, he played 22 Test matches and picked up 52 wickets, with 16 of them coming in two Tests against Bangladesh – a far cry from the attacking spinner, the wicket-taking upstart who had burst onto the Test scene.
Perhaps he was simply regressing to the mean. Perhaps his was nothing more than the lot of all South African spinners – hold up an end, keep things tight, but let the pacers dominate.
Read more: A history of commemorative Test matches
Since 2023 though, Maharaj has caught a second wind, which has coincided with a magnificent period in white-ball cricket as well. He was injured early in the year, rupturing his Achilles tendon during a Test match against West Indies.
He made a truly awesome recovery in under six months (the usual recovery time is nine to twelve months). Upon returning, in the 2023 World Cup, he took 15 wickets, the second-most of any finger spinner in the competition.
SA20 commitments meant he missed South Africa's Test tour to New Zealand earlier this year, but starred again with the white ball in the T20 World Cup. Maharaj took 11 wickets, more than any other finger-spinner. Only three spinners claimed more victims in the tournament.
How far will Keshav Maharaj go?
This journey brings us back to the start – Jayden Seales, c Bedingham b Maharaj. Wicket number 171 of Keshav Maharaj's Test career, and the denouement of a spectacular series in which he had run the hosts ragged. Throughout the series, he showcased his variations in pace and trajectory, and at times looked as if he was truly rediscovering the potency of his early red-ball days.
There was little doubt that he would eventually pass Tayfield, but it is decidedly more pleasant that the milestone was reached in a period of ascendancy for Maharaj, rather than the way his 100th Test wicket was a mere footnote in a poor tour.
Maharaj is now 34 years old. He claims that he wants to play international cricket until the age of 40, and if he is good enough then why not? His sights will now be set on breaking through the 200-wicket barrier in Test cricket. Only 23 spinners have ever achieved this, with just 10 of them coming from outside the Indian subcontinent. Of course, none are South African.
What will be sure to drive him forward is this: on the surface, Maharaj appears a quiet, almost serene personality. He is a small, slight man who is unlikely to intimidate batters with a no-frills, no-fuss run-up and action.
But do not doubt for a second that underneath this unassuming veneer, does not lie the soul of spin-bowling's equivalent of a Grim Reaper, starting to call once again.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
