KwaDukuza cricketer Adhir Maharaj earns his SA colours at 47

KwaDukuza’s Adhir Maharaj will pull on a South African cricket shirt for the first time since high school next week.

The left-handed opening batsman and off-spinner has been selected to the South African invitational veterans squad for the upcoming Africa Cup tournament. He is one of 20 players from around the country to make the team and the only one from KwaZulu-Natal.

The SA Invitational team is the second highest representative veterans team in the country, with the first team made up of mostly ex-professionals such as former Protea Ashwell Prince. Both teams will be involved in the upcoming Africa Cup, a 40 over tournament held in Pretoria from November 27 to December 1.

Zimbabwe and Namibia are the other countries involved in the four-team tournament, where all teams will play each other once before the top two face off in a final.

Maharaj said he was thrilled by the possibility that he could fulfil his childhood dream of playing for his country against an international team.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity and I am going to soak up and enjoy every aspect of the tournament,” he said.

Maharaj is a lifelong cricketer and has represented KZN at primary, high school and country district level. While attending Stanger Secondary School, he also played for the SA schools team.

He has played club cricket for Dawnheights Cricket Club since matriculating and has amassed more than 6 000 runs and 400 wickets in his 30-year premier and challenge league career.

“At the age of 47, I thought my dreams of representing South Africa were long gone. But once I started playing in the KZN veterans league and was selected to the Dolphins team, I starting taking cricket seriously again,” he said.

“I got back into the gym with a personal trainer and have focused my diet and lifestyle around getting fitter.”

Maharaj’s performances for the Dolphins, including a cracking 50 against Boland, earned him the SA Invitational selection.

He says his fondest sporting memory is of scoring his first club cricket 100 in the challenge league, with his dad Prem as his batting partner.

“My motivation these days is my six-year-old son, Ayaan. He has just started to learn cricket at school and it would be such an honour to play cricket with him on the same team one day.”

Maharaj is known to the wider community as an executive council member of the KwaDukuza Residents Forum civic group.

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