Keshav Maharaj’s 5/33 in Cairns powered South Africa’s win over Australia and restored him to No.1 in the ICC ODI bowling rankings.
Sometimes cricket gives you stories that need no chiselling. Just the facts, unadulterated and uncompromised. On 19 August 2025 at Cairns’ Cazaly’s Stadium, South Africa made 296 for 8, the highest-ever ODI score at the ground. Then one man spun his way across Australia as if it were the 90s yet again. Keshav Athmanand Maharaj, 35 years old, left-arm orthodox, five wickets for 33 runs. South Africa won by 98 runs. The ICC rankings came back the very next day, i.e., 20 August, and there he was again at the top of the ODI bowling rankings.
The irony is, last year Maharaj was excluded from the T20s. He confessed he hadn’t shut the door on the format and actually mentioned 2026 T20 World Cup aspirations. Selectors weren’t interested in him for the shorter stuff. Too old perhaps, too consistent, not explosive enough. And then he heads to Cairns, destroys Australia, and suddenly he’s the one making news again. The irony writes itself.
I still vividly recall his Test debut at Perth in November 2016. A boy from Durban, of Indian origin hailing from Uttar Pradesh. His father, Athmanand, a former club cricketer, would have been proud. South Africa believed in him to bowl in Australia. He didn’t kill sides back then, but he seemed to belong. Years down the line, he picked up a hat-trick against West Indies in 2021 and nine wickets in an innings in Sri Lanka in 2018. Those are the days you put in a diary. And then came the fall—Achilles’ tear in March 2023, celebrating a wicket. I was in the newsroom that day, believing his career might just be over. Achilles is merciless, ending the careers of fast bowlers, even spinners. But he battled back.
That battle is what Cairns is all about. Each of those balls during the spell resembled a small redemption tale. He bowled with the same rhythm as he had prior to his injury. South Africa appeared sharper with him at the nucleus. I’ve reported thousands of games, and I’ll tell you bluntly—five wickets against Australia in Australia is not an everyday day.
Responses were quick. Ravichandran Ashwin declared it unjust that a player such as Maharaj had been overlooked so consistently. Mohammed Azharuddin described his omission from previous teams as a surprise. Supporters on X, or Twitter as we continue to refer to it, shouted about dirty politics and how the selectors do not respect the old guard. Abhishek Nayar went so far as to suggest perhaps Maharaj was not as well-liked by Gautam Gambhir and the rest when they selected teams. The cacophony was everywhere.
But rankings aren’t deceptive. The ICC renewed the table, and Maharaj was back on top. The figures indicate him ahead of Theekshana, Kuldeep, and Rashid Khan. South Africa has not had a spinner rule ODI chart in decades. It is history, even if it appears to be a stealthy headline.
He’s not only a bowler. He’s also captained South Africa in white-ball cricket. He captains Durban’s Super Giants in SA20. He’s played county spells in Yorkshire and Lancashire and even had a brief IPL stint with Rajasthan Royals. Journeyman cricket, grafting league by league. And now he’s still bearing South Africa in 2025, when the majority believed his best years were behind him.
I leaned back after that Cairns game and thought of another South African left-arm spinner—Paul Adams, the frog in the blender. Thrilling and unorthodox, it didn’t work out. Maharaj is not flashy. He’s reliable. And reliability gets lost in T20 drafts, in hype in the media. But it wins you matches and wins you rankings.
