Just as Springbok supporters were on tenterhooks over the fitness of returning captain Siya Kolisi ahead of next month’s Rugby World Cup, so have Proteas fans been anxiously waiting on Keshav Maharaj.
The left-arm off-spinner freakishly ruptured his Achilles tendon while celebrating a wicket during the final Test against the West Indies in March, and looked destined to miss the Cricket World Cup in India in October and November.
Maharaj’s absence would be a major blow to the Proteas’ chances – not only due to the 33-year-old being a world-class spinner in sub-continental conditions, but also because he forms a major part of the team’s leadership group as vice-captain.
But similar to Kolisi, Maharaj has made a remarkable recovery due to an extensive rehabilitation programme, and is expected to be back on the field at the end of the month after being included in the Proteas’ T20 and one-day international squads for the upcoming series against Australia.
Maharaj, though, does not want to get too excited just yet, and is taking it all in his stride.
“The recovery is going as good as it can be right now. It’s a weird injury to say that I’ll be fine in a month or two. It’s just going to take each day as it comes,” Maharaj said.
“It’s a difficult injury to know when to push and when not to push, but hopefully I give myself the best chance through opportunities in the T20s and one-day competition. It’s obviously built up significantly in the last six weeks.
“I’ll leave that to the medical team, to see how it goes, but I can just give them the feedback as honestly as I can with regards to how I feel every day. And yeah, just try and get stronger with each day, and we’ll take it as it comes from there.”
The Proteas are able to call on experienced spinners such as Tabraiz Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin should
Maharaj’s fitness not hold up, but such is the stature that he commands from his peers that Durban’s Super Giants have elevated him to captain the Kingsmead-based franchise in the SA20 this season.
The Super Giants fell short of qualifying for the playoffs on net run-rate last season under Quinton de Kock’s leadership, and Maharaj is hoping to bring happier returns to KwaZulu-Natal next season.
“I think it’s important to peak at the right time. I think we’ve got some of our old players from last season, with a mixture of new,” Maharaj said.
“I think it’s just about being consistent in the competition.
“When you gain momentum, you want to make sure you don’t lose that momentum, because momentum is easy to break and hard to find.
“It’s about continuing that when we do get on the run, and making sure we do really well at home – because if you saw the team that won the competition (Sunrisers Eastern Cape), they played really good cricket at home, and that’s what aided them to lift the trophy at the end of the day.”
@ZaahierAdams