At 18 years and 137 days, he became the youngest-ever to play for his country.
A Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer has made headlines after becoming the youngest cricketer from his country to make an international debut.
Kwena Maphaka, who was roped in by the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners ahead of the 2024 season, received his first international cap in T20Is earlier today when he made his debut against West Indies in the first game of the three-match series. He was presented with his debut cap by veteran Proteas pacer Lungi Ngidi.
At just 18 years and 137 days old, Maphaka set a new record as the youngest player to debut for South Africa in international cricket. The previous record belonged to Victor Mpitsang, who made his ODI debut for the Proteas at 18 years and 314 days. Mpitsang later earned one more ODI cap, totalling two appearances for the national team.
Notably, Maphaka is also the second youngest player to have represented the MI franchise with the top spot being held by Rasikh Salam who was just a day younger at 17 years and 353 days when he made his debut in 2019.
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Kwena Maphaka first turned heads when he was seen playing for South Africa Under-19 earlier this year. The left-arm pacer impressed everyone, finishing as the highest wicket-taker at the mega-event with 21 scalps in six matches.
This prompted MI to place their faith in the youngster and rope him in as a replacement for the injured pacer Dilshan Madushanka.
While Maphaka’s IPL debut wasn’t exactly what he wanted, conceding 66 runs in his four overs against SRH as they plundered 277 runs in their 20 overs, Maphaka’s international debut was worth remembering from a personal point of view.
He was the pick of the Proteas bowlers as he dismissed Rovman Powell and conceded just 25 runs in 3.5 overs at an economy rate of 6.52 per over.
However, in the end, South Africa succumbed to a seven-wicket loss in the series opener at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad.
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