On Friday, October 27, after leading South Africa to a thrilling one-wicket win against Pakistan which helped Proteas to propel to the top of the points tables, the Indian-origin South African cricketer Keshav Maharaj took to social media to thank Lord Hanuman for the historic win.
Keshav Maharaj posted on Instagram, “In God I Trust, what a special result by the boys, awesome to see the performance of @shamsi90 & @aidenmarkram. Jai Shree Hanuman.” He included Om and folding hands emojis in his post.
The left-arm spinner hit a winning boundary helping the South Africans to not only chase its target of 271 runs but also hand Pakistan its 4th consecutive loss in the 2023 World Cup tournament. Keshav Maharaj had hit the winning four off Paksitani all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz.
On Friday, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat against South Africa at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Pakistan made 270 on the back of half-centuries from Saud Shakeel (52) and captain Babar Azam (50) before getting bowled out in 47.2 overs.
South Africa were comfortably chasing the target set by Pakistan. South African Captain Aiden Markram scored 91 runs but was dismissed in the 41st over with South Africa still needing 21 runs to win and three wickets remaining. His dismissal opened the door for Pakistan to mount a comeback.
Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Wasim Jr. put more pressure on South Africa’s tail-enders throughout the next six overs, with the first two claiming a wicket each. With Wasim Jr. bowling his final over in the 47th over and Shaheen and Haris already ending their spells, the task to bowl the 48th over went to Pakistani bowler Mohammad Nawaz. Keshav Maharaj got an opportunity to go for big strokes and ended the match with a four against Mohammad Nawaz in the 48th over.
In the exciting one-wicket triumph over Pakistan in the ICC World Cup match on Friday in Chennai, South Africa’s left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi referred to Keshav Maharaj’s winning boundary as the “most precious four runs” of his life.
Keshav Maharaj: A devout Ram and Hanuman Bhakt
Keshav Maharaj is an Indian-origin South African left-arm spinner and a right-handed lower-order batsman. In 2006–07, Maharaj, at 16 years of age, made his KwaZulu–Natal first-class debut. In 2009–10, he was elevated to the Dolphins roster. In two four-day matches against Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy in April and May of 2010, he took 13 wickets while touring Bangladesh with the South Africa Academy. Additionally, he opened the bowling in one of the T20 matches, taking 4 for 12 off four overs.
After a strong domestic season, Maharaj, a consistent performer, stormed into the national team and was selected as the starting spinner for the tour of Australia in late 2016.
Maharaj’s biggest accomplishment came in 2021 when he became the second South African player to score a hat-trick in a Test match. To cement his legacy, Maharaj removed Keiron Powell, Jason Holder, and Joshua da Silva off consecutive deliveries in the second Test of South Africa’s tour to the West Indies.
Maharaj, who had not yet received a cap in the T20 format, was unexpectedly selected as South Africa’s captain for a series in Sri Lanka. In his maiden T20I cricket match, Maharaj led his side to victory and took a wicket on his very first throw. In 2021 and 2022, he was selected as part of South Africa’s T20 World Cup squads. In 2023, he was included in the country’s 15-man roster for the Cricket World Cup.
The Indian-origin South African cricketer Keshav Maharaj is deeply connected to his roots. He is, in fact, a devout Ram and Hanuman bhakt as evidenced by his social media profile. The South African player’s Instagram bio reads, “Driven By Passion, Fueled by Determination Married to my Beautiful @lerisha_m Jai Shree Raam, Jai Shree Hanuman”.
Meet South Africa cricketer keshav maharaj.
— Dhruv Tripathi (@Dhruv_tr108) October 17, 2023
The bat that Keshav uses has the sacred word Om 🕉️ written on it.
Even though Keshav settled in South Africa, his deep faith in Sanatan tradition and Hindu religion.
hat's off#Netherlands#SAvsNED pic.twitter.com/VIcJnxxZcx
Notably, when South Africa played the Netherlands at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, fans and cricket enthusiasts noticed Keshav Maharaj’s bat bore the ‘Om’ sign, a sacred symbol in Hinduism.
The image of his bat displaying the ‘Om’ symbol quickly went viral among fans, creating a buzz on social media and among spectators, with almost everyone hailing the South African player for being closely connected to his roots despite being born and brought up in South Africa.
