Kwena Maphaka Studied For School On Windies Tour: South African pacer Kwena Maphaka has revealed that he will return to school to continue his studies after making his debut for the national team and that he has been studying for his prelims while on the tour to the West Indies.
Maphaka made a splash on the international stage when he became the highest wicket-taker in the 2024 U-19 Cricket World Cup, taking 21 wickets in eight games with an average of 9.71 and becoming the Player of the Tournament.
Having been a part of the South Africa ‘A’ squad for about a year, the 18-year-old was bought by the Mumbai Indian ahead of IPL 2024, where he, like other bowlers this season, went for a lot of runs but showed some potential.
Earlier this month, Maphaka was picked in the Proteas squad for the three-T20I series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. These were the first T20Is South Africa would play after losing in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup to India in an instant classic of a match.
With it being the start of a new cycle for the next T20 World Cup two years from now, several new faces were a part of the squad, including left-arm pacer Kwena. While he did play all three games, he took only one wicket in the series, which the West Indies won 3-0.
Kwena Maphaka Studied For School On Windies Tour
While not taking a lot of wickets, Kwena Maphaka showed excellent pace and a lot of promise for the future. Following the series loss, the 18-year-old commented on how he had been studying for his prelims throughout the tour and would soon be done with school.
“When I go home, it’s into prelims again. I have been studying on tour, unfortunately. It’s going to be a little bit of studying and a little bit of work. After prelims, it’s the finals and then done with school,” he said.
Maphaka also broke the record of being the youngest player to represent South Africa on the international stage. When asked about his feelings on the record, he said,
“Being the youngest player to represent South Africa is a privilege, and it’s a great honour,” he said, as per the aforementioned source. “It’s something that I’m going to hold dear to my heart for a very long time. It’s an amazing feeling, something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life to represent the Proteas. To be the youngest to do it is the cherry on top of the cake. From a very young age, people said that I have a lot of talent. Cricket is something that I really wanted to pursue; probably from the age of six, seven years old, I wanted to be a Proteas player.”
In the remaining four months of 2024, the South Africa Cricket Team will first travel to the UAE for a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, then they will head to Ireland for a three ODI series. Next, they will host India for four T20Is, then Sri Lanka for two tests, and finally Pakistan for three T20Is, three ODIs, and then a Test on Boxing Day.
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