South Africa’s left-arm off spinner Keshav Maharaj who has his origins connected to India, has stated that he would love to play against the Men in Blue in the finale of ICC T20 World Cup 2024 which kicks off from June 1 onwards. The opening fixture of the tournament will see hosts USA go head-to-head with continental neighbors Canada in what is going to be a 20-team affair for the first time in the tournament’s history.
Keshav Maharaj said that the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies will be a very important one for South Africa who will be aiming to land their first-ever ICC silverware. The Proteas are among the few teams in international cricket to have never won an international tournament even after playing very good cricket in a particular event.
Take their ICC 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign for example. South Africa were among the strongest teams on paper before the CWC and they reflected that with extraordinary performances on the field. Along with India and Australia, the Proteas suffered fewer amount of losses which came against the eventual runners-up and the Netherlands.
They played a very aggressive brand of cricket throughout the tournament and were considered as favorites heading into the knockout phases. In terms of bowling as well as batting, South Africa were almost untouchable until the semi-finals arrived where they once again proved why they are called the chokers of world cricket.
Even after removing the entire Aussie batting line-up, South Africa lost by 3 wickets in the semis at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Off-spinner Keshav Maharaj was there to experience and see what it’s like to be a part of a team that is infamous for its inability to handle pressure in the crunch phases of the game.
In a recent interview, Maharaj claimed that it (chokers tag) will be something that they will try to rectify and hopes that South Africa can take on India in the T20 WC final on 29 June in Barbados.
“We always go there with a directive in mind to try and win the World Cup. Hopefully, we can rectify that. It’ll be amazing to have a South Africa Vs India final. After the round robins of the 2023 cricket world cup, just hearing the locals in India saying that they want a South Africa-India final.” – Keshav Maharaj said.
Keshav Maharaj Claims SA20 Is Reaching The Level Of Indian Premier League
Keshav Maharaj might have never played and experienced the atmosphere and competition of the IPL, he still believes that South Africa’s domestic franchise league – the SAT20 is closing in on the level of the world’s richest cricketing league in terms of skills because revenue-wise, the league has no chance of competing against IPL and that’s not just for SAT20 but for every T20 league around the world.
“The standards are quite high in the SA T20 league, just looking at the internationals that are coming and playing across the brand and style of cricket. 200 is being chased down with ease these days. From a skill point of view, we are closing in on the IPL. It’s only been our second year.” – Keshav Maharaj concluded.