As busy as the international and franchise cricket schedule is, it remains an important role for the Proteas players to return to domestic cricket and pass down the knowledge and experience to the new generation.
SA spinner Keshav Maharaj understands this duty that he and his national teammates have, and hasn’t hesitated fulfilling it as he returned to the Dolphins side from the Champions Trophy to help the Durban-based side to win the One Day Cup.
Maharaj understands the impact of sharing the dressing room with an experienced international as a young cricketer on the come-up.
Having played in two ICC events in under a year, playing in the scorching West Indies and Bangladesh sun in Test cricket, Maharaj feels fatigued, but national duty outweighs physical tiredness.
“Look, as tired as one is or as tired as one’s body can be, it’s important that we are still role models for cricket and trying to make our systems a lot better as it goes on,” Maharaj told Independent Media on Wednesday.
“I love coming back to domestic cricket because I know what it was like as a youngster playing with some of the seniors that were around me.
“It really motivated and lifted me. It’s another opportunity for me to give back by playing these games.
“I just want to take the team over the line, and hopefully try and win the next three Four-Day games by taking it one ball and one game at a time.”
Maharaj and his Dolphins teammates will face the North West Dragons at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday (9am start) in one of the three remaining Four-Day Series games in the season.
While he will play to get the Dolphins to the final, the 35-year-old also has the upcoming World Test Championship final at Lord’s in his mind.
The spinner wants to use the coming domestic games to get his workload up and prepare his body for what will be an important Test match for South Africa in June.
“I haven’t played any red-ball cricket since January. We had a lot of white-ball cricket in between. So, I’m looking forward to four-day cricket,” said Maharaj.
“I always use four-day cricket to get my loads up and work on a few things, but there’s still a long time away from that WTC final.
“But it’s a nice preparation to get my loads up and fine-tune a few things before I go into a conditioning block, and really place emphasis on the specifics from bowling and batting.”
Fresh from spectacularly winning the One-Day Cup last weekend, Maharaj emphasised that the Dolphins are motivated to push for their second trophy of the season.
One epic final to wrap up the #1DayCup season! 🏆
— CSA Domestic Leagues (@DomesticCSA) March 18, 2025
Relive the action, the passion, and the unforgettable moments! 🏏#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/rzrrZIxj08
“I think winning the One-Day Cup was a huge momentum shift for our team. Having come off what was a very slow start, to see the character come through has been very special and exciting,” said Maharaj.
“So, hopefully carrying that momentum into the four-day campaign provides us with another opportunity to compete for another trophy.”
In other fixtures, the Titans will host Western Province at SuperSport Park in Centurion (10am start), while the Lions will travel to Paarl to take on Boland (10am), and the Warriors will face the Knights in Gqeberha (10am).