Who is Keshav Maharaj? Know About His Relationships, Family, Career, Stats and More

Keshav Maharaj, a professional South African cricketer, is undoubtedly one of the finest left-arm orthodox bowlers not only in his country but also in the whole world. Interestingly, he was a left-arm seam bowler when he started playing cricket, but switched to spin bowling at the request of his father, who also happens to be a former cricketer for the Natal team in South African domestic cricket. Turns out, his father was right about him changing to spin bowling, as his sharp spin and tenacity have led him to the international stage, where he has garnered much appreciation and acclaim. In another interesting event from his childhood, Kiran More, the legendary Indian cricketer and Keshav's father's acquaintance, predicted that he would become a huge cricket star when he was just three.

Apart from bowling, he is a pretty decent batsman too. He has chipped in some runs whenever the team was in a tough situation and has been the spearhead of the Proteas spin attack ever since joining the team. All this is enough to make him popular among cricket fans, but what makes him even more impressive, especially for Indian fans, is the fact that he is closely associated with his Indian heritage and culture. In addition, he is also widely appreciated for his charity work in collaboration with the Hollywood program.

Keshav Maharaj Biography

Keshav Maharaj was born on 7 February 1990 in Durban, Natal. He started playing cricket very early on in his life, some records even suggesting at the tender age of 2, which might be possible since he had a professional cricketer in his home in the form of his father. He honed his skills along with his schooling at the Northwood Boys High School in Durban, the alma mater of Shaun Pollock. Talking about his hobbies other than cricket, he is also a pretty good cook, having his own food blog, and making frequent appearances on cooking shows on the local radio channel. Moreover, it's worth mentioning that he also considered trying out for a spot in the Indian team when he was in the country for studies and cricket training. However, that didn't come to fruition as he found it difficult to assimilate with the people here. So, he returned to South Africa and later became a prized possession of the Proteas cricket team.

Keshav Maharaj Religion & Caste

Keshav Maharaj is a practising Hindu who has never shied away from accepting his faith in front of the public on social media. He is a devout follower of Lord Hanuman and has always been seen wishing his fans on Hindi festivals on his social media account. He has been spotted several times visiting temples and taking blessings from Bajrangbali (another name for Lord Hanuman).

A photo of his bat from the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup went viral on the internet. The special thing about this bat was the holy Hindu symbol of "OM" inscribed on it. It just went on to show how well connected he is with his Indian roots despite being born and brought up in South Africa. Meanwhile, he is also known to wish his fans on Christian festivals like Christmas and is respectful towards other religions, too. While nothing specific has been mentioned anywhere about his caste, he most probably belongs to the Hindu Gujarati community.

Keshav Maharaj Family

Keshav Maharaj's ancestry takes us back to 1874, when his great-great-grandfather first landed on the Proteas soil along with other Indian labourers to work in the farm, cotton, sugar, tea, and rail sectors for the then racist South African government run by the Britishers. Records say that his forefathers came from Sultanpur, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, India. So, he has an Indian heritage with a South African upbringing. He has been very appreciative of his Indian roots, proudly wearing them like a badge of honour. He has been seen celebrating Indian festivals with his family and expressing his deep admiration for Indian traditions.

Keshav Maharaj Father

Keshav Maharaj's father, Athmanand Maharaj, used to play for the Natal province as a wicketkeeper-batsman and was the main reason Keshav was introduced to cricket. His father was also the deputy director general of sports in the KwaZulu-Natal Province and was later selected for the Bakers Mini-Cricket program, a project focused on nurturing young cricket talents at the school level. He worked there in the capacity of a left-arm pace bowler. Athmanand also had contacts in Pakistani and Indian cricket, like Pravin Amre and Kiran More, who helped a young Keshav in the nets to develop his bowling skills.

Keshav Maharaj Mother

There isn't much information available on his mother, other than her name, which is Kanchan Mala. There are no more details on his mother at all in any verified source.

Keshav Maharaj Brother

Going through many official records and verified sources, it isn't mentioned anywhere that he has a brother. Even if he does, it's not disclosed anywhere, even on his social media accounts.

Keshav Maharaj Sisters

From the available information, it is known that he has two sisters named Nashika and Tarisma. Nothing else is mentioned about either of his sisters on any official site or verified source.

Keshav Maharaj Instagram

Keshav Maharaj has an Instagram account under the handle keshavmaharaj16, where he has 285k+ followers. He frequently posts pictures and updates on his personal and professional life, and also showcases his Indian side on full display.

Keshav Maharaj Twitter

Keshav Maharaj does have an X (formerly known as Twitter) account under the handle @keshavmaharaj16, where he has 13k+ followers. He frequently shares his thoughts and opinions along with glimpses from his cricketing journey on the platform.

Keshav Maharaj Facebook

Keshav Maharaj doesn't seem to have an official account on Facebook, as no verified account appears when you search his name on the platform.

Keshav Maharaj Jersey Number

Keshav Maharaj has always donned the 16 number jersey right from his early domestic era and then continued to sport the same number shirt when he debuted in the international scene. The same number can be seen on his back across formats and was given the same jersey number when he played the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2024 for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). However, it is not known if he dons the same jersey number in other T20 leagues or uses a different number.

Keshav Maharaj Relationships

Keshav Maharaj is married to Lerisha Munsamy, whom he has known for a long time. They both actually met through a common friend in 2018, and after dating for only a period of five and a half months, Keshav proposed to Lerisha, to which she agreed. For some time, they kept their relationship a secret from their families, but they later revealed it to Keshav's mother in quite a filmy fashion. They performed a Kathak dance together on his mother's 50th birthday with which impressed Lerisha. They got her blessings, and Lerisha won a place in their hearts. Keshav and Lerisha finally got married in 2022 after their marriage had been delayed repeatedly, first by COVID-19 and then by the sudden death of a relative.

Keshav Maharaj Wife

Keshav Maharaj wife, Lerisha Munsamy, is a popular Kathak dancer with 47k+ followers on Instagram. She shares clips of her dance performances and some scenes from her personal life with Keshav. Well, her dance videos are well appreciated by fans, making her a celebrity on social media. The couple also has a daughter together named Milan Anjali.

Keshav Maharaj Net Worth & Salary

Keshav Maharaj has done pretty well for himself monetarily from his cricket career. Keshav Maharaj net worth is around $ 5 million (₹ 41–42 crore), which is a big number. He has earned all of this through his Central contract with Cricket South Africa (CSA) worth ZAR 1.5 million/year ($ 90,000), annual match fees which come to approximately $406,250 ($ 4,500 per Test, $ 1,200 per ODI, and $ 800 per T20I). There is no data available on his price in other T20 leagues he has participated in. So, there's no way of determining his earnings from those tournaments.

Keshav Maharaj Career

Keshav Maharaj career started at the age of 16 in First-Class cricket, representing the KwaZulu-Natal team in the 2006-07 season. He was then drafted by the Dolphins in the CSA T20 Challenge 2009-10 season due to his impressive performance. His standout performances there got him a call-up from the national side, and he made his international debut on 3 November 2016 in the Australia vs South Africa Test match at W.A.C.A. He then made his ODI debut on 27 May 2017 in the England vs South Africa match at Southampton. It took him almost four years from there to get his T20I debut. On 10 September 2021, he played his first T20I against Sri Lanka at Colombo. He is currently a member of the South African Test team, which is playing the WTC 2025 Final.

International Career

He has amassed 198 scalps from 96 Test innings (57 matches) at an average of 29.68 with a best bowling figure of 9/129. He became only the second left-arm spinner in the world after Rangana Herath to take 9 wickets in a Test innings. He also has a 10-wicket haul, eleven 5-wicket and six 4-wicket hauls in the format. In ODIs, he has 58 wickets from 47 innings (48 matches) at an average of 32.51 with a best bowling figure of 4/33 from the format. Furthermore, he has taken 38 wickets from 39 T20I matches at an average of 25.84 with a best bowling performance of 3/27 in the format. While talking about his batting performance, he has scored 1,213 runs from 88 Test innings at an average of 14.97, 239 runs from 24 ODI innings at an average of 12.57, and 103 runs from 15 T20I innings at an average of 11.44.

Other Leagues Career

He has participated in a number of T20 leagues across the world. He was a part of the IPL for just the 2024 season and for only 2 matches, representing the Rajasthan Royals. In those 2 matches, he managed to take 2 wickets with an average of 19.50. He has been a part of the SA20 since 2023, representing the Durban Super Giants. He has taken 27 wickets in total from 33 innings (33 matches) at an average of 27.03 with a best bowling figure of 2/17 in the league. He also has 90 runs from 16 innings at an average of 11.25 in the tournament.

In the 2024 season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), he represented the Barbados Royals for whom he took 8 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 29.50 with a best bowling figure of 3/42 from the league. He has also been in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) for just 3 matches, representing Fortune Barishal. He has taken 3 wickets at an average of 27.00.

In the two seasons of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), he has played for the Durban Heat, and he managed to grab 12 wickets from 16 matches at an average of 35.16 with a best bowling performance of 3/15. He has also scored 82 runs from 8 innings at an average of 27.33. He also played county cricket for just a single season in the Vitality T20 Blast 2019, representing the Yorkshire team. They could only muster 2 wickets from 5 matches at an average of 63.00. In the only CLT20 season he played in 2014, he only played three matches, representing the Dolphins. He took only one wicket in that tournament and scored 37 runs.

Keshav Maharaj Achievements & Awards

In his cricketing journey, he has achieved many feats and accolades that have been a credit to his immense talent and tenacity. His most prominent achievement would be the 9-wicket haul in Colombo and becoming only the second left-arm spinner to do so after Rangana Herath. Also, his bowling figure (9/129) in that match became the best by a South African spinner since 1949. In 2021, he took a hat-trick in a Test match against the West Indies. He became the first South African bowler to take a Test hat-trick since 1960. In the same year, he was appointed the captain of the South African T20I team, which is rare for a spinner. In 2023, he became a part of a historic away series win against Australia in ODIs.