“I can wake up at two in the morning, and if you ask me to bowl, I’ll bowl,” Keshav Maharaj says, demonstrating his intense love of the game

The one thing that stood out about the just-ended first Test between the West Indies and South Africa was how very resilient Proteas’ left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is. He can bowl nonstop in any kind of weather. On the third day of the match, Maharaj bowled 28 overs in a row on the remarkably forgiving Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. He then bowled another 12 overs the following day.

Keshav Maharaj, who finished the first Test as the Player of the contest, bowled 66.2 overs throughout the match, delivering 17 maidens and claiming eight wickets. He talked about his deep love for the game and described his main motivation for bowling.

“Spin bowling is my passion. I adore it. That keeps me motivated because I can get up at two in the morning and bowl if you ask me to. According to ESPNcricinfo, Trinidadian Keshav Maharaj said, “I’ll bowl the entire day if I have to, because I want to do well for the team and lead this team in a different direction.”

He also went into further detail about his one and only goal when getting ready for any game: to train as if he were going to play red-ball cricket. He also talked about the trade-offs he makes in comparison to many other spinners and the tactics he uses to overcome these difficulties.

“I always maintain my workload as though I’m getting ready for a Test match, no matter what format I play.” Whether it’s 50-over cricket or T20, the only things that alter are your lengths and perhaps your lines a little bit, but in terms of longevity, I still bowl my lengthy hours. It’s something I’m proud of. As I don’t have as many variations as other spinners across the world, I try to rely on my ability to stay consistent and work for extended periods of time,” Maharaj said.

In Test cricket, I never want the captain to take the ball away from me: Keshav Maharaj

Keshav Maharaj also voiced his excitement for the opportunities he is getting to completely demonstrate his bowling prowess. Normally, when the Proteas play Tests at home, Maharaj does not get to show off his skills with the ball. He also talked about his unquenchable desire to bowl as much and as well as he could.

“I never want the captain to take the ball away from me in Test cricket, so I’m always trying to bowl my best ball and trying to be a wily old character,” said Keshav Maharaj.

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As the second Test of the series approaches, Maharaj will be resting after his lengthy spell and is anticipated to produce yet another impressive exhibition of spin bowling in an attempt to give South Africa a commanding lead in the second and final Test of the series.