Keshav Maharaj

In a team that is traditionally all about pace, pace, pace, Maharaj as a spinner offers the ability to bowl long disciplined spells, relying on accuracy, drift and late turn rather than extravagant flight. He enjoys the chance to hunt for wickets when batters, frustrated by South Africa's high-quality fast bowlers, look to attack him.

He established himself as a dependable option in the Test side after taking a chart-topping 15 wickets at 19.9 in South Africa's series win in New Zealand in 2017, including 6 for 40 in Wellington. Other big innings hauls included nine in Colombo in 2018, seven each in back-to-back Tests at home against Bangladesh in 2022 and another seven in a big win in Rawalpindi in 2025. In Durban in 2018, he took a match haul of 9 for 225 against Australia, demonstrating his effectiveness against quality batters of spin.

That year he also became the fastest South African spinner to 50 Test wickets since the country's readmission. And in 2021, in St Lucia, he was only the second South African to get a Test hat-trick.

A product of Northwood Boys High, the alma mater of Shaun Pollock, Maharaj, in his youth, was a pace bowler, whose father played for Natal B during segregation years. He turned to spin on a whim in the nets one afternoon at school.

His reliability makes him valuable even when conditions offer little assistance. In 2024, he crossed Hugh Tayfield's record to become his country's most successful Test spinner, but sweeter than that milestone would have been lifting his first ICC trophy when South Africa beat Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord's in 2025.

However, Maharaj isn't only a red-ball specialist; his stump-to-stump line and clever use of angles is a boon in white-ball cricket. After recovering remarkably quickly from an Achilles rupture, he played a key role in South Africa's run to the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, taking 15 wickets at an economy rate of 4.15. Six months later, he took 11 wickets as South Africa made it to the T20 World Cup final, where he got figures of 2 for 23 in a narrow defeat to India. He has also captained both in limited-overs internationals and in the SA20.

In 2025, he took his first ODI five-for, against Australia in Cairns, and rose to No. 1 in the format's rankings shortly after.