"Have been studying on tour" - Kwena Maphaka to prepare for his prelims on returning home after first stint with South Africa's senior team
South Africa's latest fast-bowling sensation Kwena Maphaka has revealed that he will return to school after living the dream of playing cricket at the highest level. The left-arm seamer also disclosed that he had been studying during the tour of the West Indies as his prelims loom.
With Maphaka finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the U19 World Cup earlier this year, the selectors decided to blood him into the national team for the T20I series in the Caribbean. Although the youngster managed only one scalp in three matches, he bowled at a good pace and is a promising prospect for the future.
Speaking after South Africa's series loss, the 18-year-old said, as quoted by iol.com.za:
"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."
Maphaka had also bagged a deal with the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 as the franchise roped him in as a replacement for Dilshan Madushanka. He had a forgettable debut but took figures of 2-0-23-1 in his second game.
"To be the youngest to do it is the cherry on top of the cake" - Kwena Maphaka
With the teenage prodigy creating the record of being the youngest player to represent South Africa, he said he will hold it dear to his heart and try to exceed people's expectations in the future.
"Being the youngest player to represent South Africa is a privilege and it’s a great honor," 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."
It remains to be seen if the 18-year-old will be picked in the ODIs against Afghanistan beginning September 18.