South Africa star spinner Keshav Maharaj wished the Indian community in the country ahead of the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha (consecration ceremony) in Ayodhya set to take place on 22nd January. He has previously revealed that he is an adherent follower of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman.
He stated, “Namaste everyone. I just want to wish my Indian community in South Africa for the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya tomorrow. May there be peace, harmony and spiritual enlightenment for all. Jai Shree Ram,” in a video message posted on his Instagram story.
Keshav Maharaj wishes everyone ahead of the Pran Pratishtha of Lord Rama in Ram Temple. pic.twitter.com/zU00hr7DgJ
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 21, 2024
The cricketer’s great-grandfather was from the Uttar Pradesh village of Sultanpur which is where his Indian ancestry originated. He has been publicly assertive about his Hindu faith and regularly posted pictures from his visit to the temples following the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup which took place in India. He also went to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala during his World Cup campaign.
The cricket star has pasted an ‘Om’ sticker on his bat which is proudly displayed every time he comes to play. Interestingly, ‘Ram Siya Ram’ from the movie Adipurush was heard in the stadium each time Keshav Maharaj came out to bat in the recently finished Test series against India. Indian wicket-keeper KL Rahul also noticed it and stated, “Keshav bhai, every time you come to the crease, they play this song,” to which he replied “Yeah,” with a smile.
Later on, he disclosed that he had requested for the song to be played. “Obviously, something that I put forward to the media lady and requested that song to be played. For me, God has been my greatest blessing, giving me guidance and opportunity. So, it’s the least that I can do and it also just gets you in your zone and get that respect from other players. It’s a nice feeling walking out (into the ground) to hear ‘Ram Siya Ram’ playing in the background,” he mentioned in an interview.
Indian cricketers including Anil Kumble, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have all been invited to the inauguration ceremony. According to sources, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has granted permission to former captain Virat Kohli to attend the significant event.
Notably, Ayodhya has been decorated like a bride and dignitaries from other fields like business, politics, entertainment, spirituality, etc have also been invited to be present to witness the landmark program which will be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
