Keshav Maharaj Praises Connor Esterhuizen for Standout NZ Series

South African stand-in captain, Keshav Maharaj, applauded the young Connor Esterhuizen for delivering a remarkable performance in the recent New Zealand series. He said Connor was exceptional in every game, as winning the Man of the Series award on an international debut is not an ordinary feat.

Esterhuizen began the debut series with an unbeaten 45 from 48 balls in the first game. He then failed to make a big score in the next two matches but came back strongly with two half-centuries at the end of the series. Overall, he scored 200 runs at an average of 50.00 and a strike rate of 145.98. He scored twice as many runs as the next best batter, Devon Conway, who made a total of 100 runs.

"The way he bounced back, read conditions and led the batting line-up [was great to see]. Him coming in his debut series and getting an MoM and a Man of the Series on some tough wickets is super special.” said South African stand-in captain, Keshav Maharaj.

“I think the knock today summed up the calibre of player he is. Hopefully, he grows from stint to stint and keeps putting in the performances and gets noticed for various formats of the game for South Africa." added Keshav Maharaj.

Interestingly, Maharaj was also the captain of Esterhuizen at Pretoria Capitals in the SA20, which is why he saw his potential closely. The team finished as runners-up in the latest season, but Esterhuizen struggled with the bat to score runs.

He played all 12 matches but managed only 166 runs at an average of 15.09 and a strike rate of 105.73. Despite all these struggles, Maharaj still had confidence in Esterhuizen’s abilities, which eventually paid off in the recent South Africa vs New Zealand T20I series.

"I was fortunate enough to spend the whole SA20 with him, just to see how he goes about his business. He's a real hard worker. He's someone who's under my wing. I don't think many can hit cricket shots like that in the middle of the way he does. He has a sweet timer of the ball. But [it's good to see] just how clear he is and how hungry he is to want to do well." said Keshav Maharaj.