Keshav Maharaj's Place in Doubt for Centurion Test

There is no doubt about the fact that Keshav Maharaj is the best spinner South Africa had in the last several years, but that doesn’t guarantee his selection in the 2^nd Test against India scheduled to be played at the Supersport Park in Centurion. With the pitch expected to assist the pacers just like the way it did in Cape Town, Maharaj might well be axed for the 2^nd Test.

The left-arm spinner bowled only ten overs throughout the 2^nd innings which also included the injury to Dale Steyn which forced him to miss bowling in the 2^nd essay. Of the total 40 wickets which fell, 37 belonged to the pacer in the opening Test at Cape Town. Steyn won’t take any further part in the series and is expected to be replaced by Lungi Ngidi, Chris Morris or Duanne Olivier.

Maharaja did chip in with a pretty handy 35 in the 1^st innings which propelled the hosts to a score of 286 in the 1^st innings. He has been pretty impressive in his career so far and has bagged 56 Test wickets at an impressive average of 25.6 which is pretty impressive when compared to other South African spinners.

If the team management decides to select Temba Bavuma then automatically Quinton de Kock have to come down to No 7. Speaking after South Africa’s victory in the opening Test, coach Ottis Gibson made it clear that he would like to continue persisting with four specialist seamers all through the series. However, his views on Maharaj were pretty less convincing.

“He is still a very important part of our group, whether he plays or not,” the coach said. If Faf du Plessis wants then Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram are there to provide the role of a backup spinner. However, by the look of things, it doesn’t look like that they will be required for the final two Tests.

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